April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Hundreds of employees of Kumho Tire on July 13 held a rally against plans to sell the company to China’s Qingdao Doublestar.

About 750 workers held separate rallies at the company headquarters in Seoul and an R&D center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, demanding creditors led by the state-run Korea Development Bank stop the sales process.

“The creditors are trying to sell our company to Doublestar, which is inferior in every aspect, including size, technology and marketing, ignoring our efforts (to stop the sale),” they said in a statement.

“Our clients and business partners, as well as Kumho Tire employees, are all concerned about the possibility of Doublestar closing Kumho Tire’s factories at home after securing the technology and overseas assets.”

Workers also called on creditors to allow the tire maker time to stand on its own, saying, “We are determined to do everything in our power to normalize the management of the company using the world’s top-notch technology and the global distribution networks.”

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)