Korea Zinc's Extraordinary General Meeting Likely Next Month... Fate of Management Rights to Be Decided by Vote

Board Meeting for Temporary General Meeting on 3rd
Likely Held in Third Week of January Next Year
Competition for Additional Share Acquisition Expected to Intensify

Korea Zinc has begun preparations for an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders that will determine the outcome of the management rights dispute. As both sides engage in fierce on-market buying battles, once the date for the shareholders' meeting is confirmed, movements for the vote showdown are expected to accelerate further.

According to industry sources on the 2nd, Korea Zinc will hold a board meeting on the afternoon of the 3rd to decide whether to hold an extraordinary shareholders' meeting and set the date. The extraordinary meeting is expected to be held in the third week of January, just before the Lunar New Year holidays next year. The industry widely anticipates that it will likely take place on the 23rd.

Previously, Youngpoong and MBK Partners applied to the court for permission to convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting of Korea Zinc. In response, Korea Zinc is known to have proactively decided to hold the meeting through the board of directors. If Korea Zinc refuses to hold the meeting and the court accepts Youngpoong's request, the chairmanship of the meeting will shift to the Youngpoong-MBK alliance.

Korea Zinc, which is undergoing a management rights dispute, held an emergency board meeting at its headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 30th, and is expected to take measures regarding the Yeongpung-MBK Partners alliance's request to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

The extraordinary shareholders' meeting is expected to be a turning point in the management rights dispute. The Youngpoong-MBK alliance has proposed agenda items for the meeting, including ▲appointing 14 additional directors ▲amending the articles of incorporation to introduce an executive officer system. If these agenda items are approved in the vote, the management rights of Korea Zinc will transfer to MBK Partners.

Currently, the difference in shares between Chairman Choi and his friendly shareholders (34%) and the Youngpoong-MBK side (39%) is about 5%. After the company’s share buyback, Youngpoong further secured an additional 1.36% through on-market purchases, widening the gap. In response, Chairman Choi’s family recently invested 26 billion won to purchase additional Korea Zinc shares. Youngpoong Precision also announced last month a stock purchase of up to 40 billion won, signaling a full-scale battle.

Once the date for the extraordinary shareholders' meeting is confirmed, the on-market buying battle is expected to intensify until the record date for the shareholder registry. If the meeting date is fixed on the 23rd, the record date is likely to be set around mid to late this month.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Korea Zinc’s stock price closed at 1,411,000 won, soaring 19.58% compared to the previous trading day, reflecting expectations of the on-market buying battle.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.