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Song Ho-sung, President and CEO of Kia. (Photo: Yonhap News Agency) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Young Taek & Kim Jihyun] SEOUL, June 8 — Remarks by Song Ho-sung, CEO of Kia, suggesting a potential 2028 initial public offering (IPO) for Boston Dynamics were removed from a research report by Korea Investment & Securities following strong objections from Hyundai Motor Group, according to industry sources.
According to an AlphaBiz report, the brokerage initially included Song’s comment in a May 18 report after attending a non-deal roadshow (NDR) in Hong Kong and Singapore. The analyst — reportedly the only one present at the event — quoted Song as saying that 2028 would be an appropriate timing for Boston Dynamics’ IPO, coinciding with the start of mass production of humanoid robots.
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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
After the report drew market attention and was picked up by media outlets, Hyundai Motor Group strongly protested, prompting Korea Investment & Securities to revise the report and remove the IPO-related remark from the Q&A section.
A Hyundai Motor Group official said Song did not explicitly make such a statement, adding that the analyst may have paraphrased broader company explanations in the report. The company said the revision was intended to avoid misunderstanding over the attribution of the remarks rather than to correct factual inaccuracies.
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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
Despite the explanation, industry experts raised concerns over the incident, noting that the analyst was the only attendee at the event and questioning the likelihood of fabricating such a specific claim. Critics also warned that external pressure on research reports could undermine the independence and credibility of equity analysis.
Alphabiz 김영택 기자(sitory0103@alphabiz.co.kr)
