Yeongpung "Chairman Choi Yunbeom: No Compromise Unless Everything Is Returned"

Declaration of Invalidity of Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting Resolution
Demand for a Sincere Apology

Choi Yoon-beom, chairman of Korea Zinc, and Youngpoong, the largest shareholder engaged in a management rights dispute, have effectively stated that compromise is difficult. They insist that all actions taken by Chairman Choi's side, from purchasing treasury shares to the sudden acquisition of Youngpoong shares by Korea Zinc’s subsidiary, must be reversed and a sincere apology must be made.

On the 5th, Youngpoong released a statement expressing this position. Youngpoong said, "The illegal surprise move initiated by Chairman Choi on the 22nd of last month, just one day before Korea Zinc’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, to eliminate Youngpoong’s voting rights as the largest shareholder, is close to an incident (事變)." They added, "Despite disputes over the restriction of Youngpoong’s voting rights and proposals to first receive a court ruling, Chairman Choi ignored all and pushed through the shareholders’ meeting results solely as he wished, which was a brutal act."

They also criticized the major compromise proposal later presented by Chairman Choi’s side as unacceptable. Youngpoong stated, "Is Chairman Choi suddenly having a change of heart after spending over four months spreading massive propaganda to portray MBK Partners as ‘speculative forces’ and ‘Chinese capital’?" They pointed out, "Dialogue and compromise require at least minimal respect for the other party, but Chairman Choi has ignored the major shareholder who holds nearly a majority ownership."

Youngpoong also highlighted various suspicions surrounding Chairman Choi. They said, "Is it unreasonable for the company’s largest shareholder to demand the truth about investing thousands of billions of won of company funds into a newly established fund created by a middle school classmate, which was involved in a stock price manipulation case?" They continued, "Is it hostile for the major shareholder to demand the truth about acquiring a foreign company with an unclear business outlook for thousands of billions of won under the pretext of investing in future growth industries, only for that money to disappear within just one or two years?"

They emphasized, "How can the largest shareholder be hostile?" and "The largest shareholder suffers the greatest financial damage if Korea Zinc’s value declines."

Youngpoong demanded that Chairman Choi withdraw all actions to reach a compromise. They stated that Chairman Choi must acknowledge that passing the agenda at the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on the 23rd was illegal and declare that the resolution has no effect. Furthermore, Youngpoong said, "Chairman Choi must bow his head and apologize to the remaining shareholders for the large-scale public tender offer of treasury shares already conducted to protect his personal management rights." They pointed out, "Such a tender offer was an act of taking the assets of remaining shareholders and even paying a premium to shareholders leaving the company, resulting in the outflow of nearly 20% of the company’s net asset value."

They drew a clear line, stating that there can be no compromise without these measures and a sincere apology. Youngpoong concluded, "As time passes, the truth of the matter will be revealed," and "As the largest shareholder of Korea Zinc, the determination to protect the company’s value from the arbitrary actions of management agents will never waver over time."

The Korea Zinc Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders is taking place on the afternoon of the 23rd at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

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