Hanwha Solutions Corp. gained approval from shareholders to spin off Hanwha Galleria as a separate company Monday to focus its businesses in the chemical and renewable energy sectors.

The spin-off will take place on March 1 and will relist on the stock market on March 31 as shareholders voted in favor of the plan at an extraordinary meeting. Stocks will be split 9-for-1 between Hanwha Solutions and Hanwha Galleria. Hanwha Galleria will become a separate entity two years after its merger with Hanwha Solutions in April 2021.

A spin-off divides or splits corporate sections as a separate entity. It differs from a split-off in that existing shareholders are also given the shares of the separated company.

The securities industry sees the spin-off as a step toward a succession plan of Kim Dong-seon, the third son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung Youn and head of the strategic team at Galleria, as it is likely to accelerate and empower the management of third-generation members of Hanwha Group.

Hanwha Solutions has further simplified its business structure through this spin-off. It had been operating divisions for renewable energy, chemicals, advanced materials and retail but has now separated retail, in addition to advanced materials late last year.

By Park Yoon-ye, Jung You-jung and Choi Jieun

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