Hyosung Heavy’s Unpredictable Stock Surges 370% This Year

[Korea Financial Times, Shin Haeju] On May 26, Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-jun sold 456,903 shares (4.90% stake) out of his 1,388,233 shares (14.89% stake) in Hyosung Heavy Industries at 568,100 won per share through after-hours block trading. The closing price at the time of sale was 600,000 won, meaning Chairman Cho sold at approximately 5.32% discount to the closing price.

The reason Chairman Cho sold Hyosung Heavy Industries shares was that he needed cash. He had to secure funds for inheritance tax following the passing of the late Honorary Chairman Cho Suk-rae. The inheritance tax burden for the Hyosung family was estimated at approximately 400 billion won. Of this, Chairman Cho was reportedly required to pay approximately 200 billion won.

Chairman Cho decided to utilize his stake in Hyosung Heavy Industries, judging it would have less impact than the holding company. Through the stake sale, he secured approximately 260 billion won in cash. This reduced his stake in Hyosung Heavy Industries to 9.99% (931,320 shares).

However, Hyosung Heavy Industries closed at 1,912,000 won on the 28th. The stock price surged 218% in just five months.

Hyosung Heavy Industries' stock price continues its steep upward trajectory, difficult to predict even for the owner. The stock price that started at around 400,000 won in January this year has surged over 370% in just 10 months.

In early 2020, when COVID-19 began to intensify, Hyosung Heavy Industries' stock price hovered at just 10,000-20,000 won. It subsequently surpassed 100,000 won in 2023, 400,000 won in 2024, and broke through 1 million won in 2025, becoming an "emperor stock." The stock price has skyrocketed thousands of percent in just about five years.

Particularly this year, the stock price has soared to the sky, coinciding with a super boom in power equipment driven by increased AI data center construction in the U.S., European power grid replacement demand, and Korea's West Coast Energy Highway project.

Factors behind Hyosung Heavy Industries' stock price surge are analyzed to include a high-margin structure centered on extra-high voltage transformers, exclusive possession of domestic HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) proprietary technology, export expansion, large-scale orders and factory expansion, and minimization of tariff risks in the U.S.

Hyosung Heavy Industries' main product is extra-high voltage transformers, which have higher margins than medium and low-voltage transformers.

As sales proportions in highly profitable European and North American regions increased, overseas sales surpassed domestic sales after 2023. The export ratio surged from 38.38% in 2022 to 55.61% in just one year, and recorded 58.06% last year.

This year, Hyosung Heavy Industries secured orders for extra-high voltage transformers and circuit breakers in Europe, followed by a package order worth approximately 200 billion won including 765 kilovolt (kV) extra-high voltage transformers, reactors, and circuit breakers in the U.S.

As of the end of June, the order backlog stood at 13.345 trillion won, securing approximately five years' worth of work.

Shin Haeju (hjs0509@fntimes.com)