SEOUL -- Shortly after SK Hynix announced last month that it would contribute nearly $3.5 billion as part of a consortium to acquire Toshiba Memory, Chey Tae-won, the chairman and founding family member of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Holdings-- the chipmaking unit's parent -- boarded his corporate jet and flew to Tokyo to meet with the Japanese company's executives and other officials.
During a candid discussion there, a Japanese economic ministry official reminded Chey that SK Hynix, which has the second-biggest market capitalization in South Korea, could not have more than 15% of voting rights in Toshiba Memory for the next decade. With a casual smile, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting, Chey responded that "management rights are not the goal" of SK's investment.
