As you may be aware, one of South Korea's largest shipowners, Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd (“Hanjin”), has applied for court rehabilitation in Korea. On 1 September 2016 the Seoul Central District Court (Bankruptcy Division 6) issued a decision accepting that application and commencing rehabilitation proceedings.
Based on our experience in dealing with recent rehabilitations involving the Korean shipping industry and working closely with Korean lawyers, we set out below a few guidance points.
What is a Korean Court Rehabilitation?
South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd. filed for court receivership on Wednesday, August 31st in South Korea after losing the support of its banks, setting the stage for its assets to be frozen as West Coast ports deny access to its vessels. This recent development will have an immediate impact on a number of Buchalter’s clients, including manufacturers, retailers and asset based lenders.
We have all heard that the world is, once again, flat, given the importance of global trade and the interconnectivity of the supply chain. With Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. ("Hanjin"), South Korea's largest shipping company and the world's seventh largest container operator in terms of capacity, filing for receivership in connection with its bankruptcy proceeding in South Korea this week, new complications are appearing throughout the global supply chain.
I. The Bankruptcy Court’s commencement of rehabilitation proceedings and announcement of timetable
You may recognise the quote in the title from the film "Ron Burgundy – Anchorman" about our favourite newsreader from San Diego in the 80's. Of course he was talking about a street fight with news teams from other San Diego stations but could just as easily been talking about the seemingly sudden financial demise of the Hanjin shipping line.
- Implications of Supreme Court 2012Do1283 (rendered June 14, 2012)
Regarding the acquisition of a company under reorganization according to the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act, the Supreme Court ruled on June 14, 2012 that the general principles of a leverage buy-out ("LBO") should apply.
On October 11, 2012, the Seoul Central District Court (“Court”) commenced reorganization proceedings against Woongjin Holdings, a holding company of Woongjin Group, under the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act (“Bankruptcy Act”). As a result, various issues under the Bankruptcy Act related to the reorganization proceedings of Woongjin Holdings surfaced.
On October 11, 2012, the Seoul Central District Court ("Court") commenced reorganization proceedings against Kukdong Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. ("Kukdong") under the Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act ("Bankruptcy Act").
Under the current Debtor Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Act (“Debtor Rehabilitation Act”), even if a debtor’s debt is reduced or exempted when a rehabilitation plan is approved, this does not affect the debt of a guarantor who jointly bears certain obligations with such debtor (“Joint Guarantor”) (Debtor Rehabilitation Act, §250(2)).
作为2016年整个航运界最震憾的事件，世界第七大集装箱航运商韩国韩进海运的破产案件最进又有了新进展。据外媒报道，在经历了近半年的重整努力后，2017年2月17日，韩国首尔中区法院正式裁定韩进海运破产。至此，这起航运史上最大的破产案件终于尘埃落定。据悉，韩进海运大部分的资产已经被拍卖用于偿债。
韩进海运在2016年9月进入重整程序后采取了哪些自救措施？这桩全球航运业有史以来最大的破产案涉及哪些航运企业跨境破产法律问题？我们将在下文逐一分析。
特殊的运营模式对航运企业的保护作用
为规避法律风险，现代航运企业多采取单船公司结构，单船公司之间彼此互不隶属。另外，除购买外，航运企业多采取租赁方式扩大商船运力。据报道，在韩进海运的全部运力中，仅有不足10%是由其自有船舶完成的。换言之，我们看到的航行在大洋上的、涂有HanJin Shipping字样的船舶里超过90%其实并不是韩进海运公司的财产。