A New York pension fund seeking $31 million from Hanjin Shipping Co. asked court permission to investigate ties between the South Korean carrier and its parent entity, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Yesterday’s filing in U.S Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey marks an attempt to draw the Hanjin Group conglomerate into the U.S. bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping, which filed in August for receivership proceedings in Korea. The maritime carrier sought recognition of its insolvency in the U.S. days later by filing for chapter 15 protection, the section of the U.S. bankruptcy code covering foreign corporate debtors. A longshoremen’s pension fund is pursuing a $31 million “withdrawal liability” from Hanjin Shipping in the courts of both countries, according to yesterday’s filing. That represents the amount the New York Shipping Association-International Longshoremen’s Association Pension Trust Fund says that the carrier owes for pension benefits that will be paid out in the future. The pension fund says it wants to know whether the Hanjin Group conglomerate’s other businesses, including the world’s third-largest cargo airline, Korean Air, may be a close enough relative of the shipping unit that they, too, are liable for the $31 million tab.
