By Kim Ki-tae
Staff Reporter

SK Group chairman Son Kil-seung said yesterday that the nation’s third largest conglomerate is safe from any hostile foreign takeover bid.

He told the reporters yesterday in Seoul that the group and its affiliates, including SK Telecom, are not in crisis in the face of an alleged hostile takeover bid by a Monaco-based asset management firm, Sovereign Asset Management.

The chairman said he is well prepared against outside attempts to control the group against the will of the existing management.

In a separate press conference, SK Corp. chief financial officer Yu Jeong-joon also said, ``We are not regarding Sovereign as a hostile bidder, as Sovereign made its intention clear as a long-term investor in Korea, not as a short-term speculator.’’

But he said the group has not ruled out the worst-case scenario against which all programs and plans are prepared. His remark indicated that the group is capable of fending off any outside attempt to control its subsidiaries, either through a hostile takeover bid or greenmailing.

He said Sovereign informed him that it bought SK Corp. stocks because its stock prices are ``ridiculously cheap’’ in a meeting on April 10.

``During the meeting, we agreed to handle the pending issues through formal channels such as the SK Corp’s board of directors meeting, not through behind-scene meetings,’’ Yu said.

Crest Securities, Sovereign’s subsidiary, increased its holding to 14.99 percent in SK Corp. last week and became its largest single shareholder.

In a statement, Sovereign announced that it does not seek short-term gains through the stock investment and intends to make the refinery company a globally competitive firm.

Yu said, ``During the meeting, Sovereign advised us to maximize shareholder value to that of a reputable world-class company.’’

``This is, in fact, in line with our long-standing position for better management,’’ he said, adding that SK Corp. wants Sovereign as a partner, not as an enemy.

Yu also said SK Corp has not asked POSCO to act as a ``white knight ‘’ and rescue the oil refinery firm from any possible hostile takeover attempt.