Sustinvest Recommends Voting in Favor of Reappointing Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yunbeom as Inside Director

Supports the Proposal for Five Directors,
Opposes MBK and Young Poong's Proposal for Six Directors

ESG rating agency Sustinvest has expressed its support for the current management of Korea Zinc ahead of the company's annual general shareholders' meeting.

Signboard in front of the headquarters of Korea Zinc. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to Korea Zinc on March 17, Sustinvest, in its proxy voting recommendation report for the annual general shareholders' meeting scheduled for March 24, recommended a vote in favor of reappointing Chairman Choi Yunbeom as an inside director. In contrast, it advised voting against all four director candidates nominated by the MBK and Young Poong groups.

Sustinvest also supported the nominations of Choi Yunbeom as inside director, Hwang Deoknam as outside director, Kim Boyoung as audit committee member, and Lee Minho as outside director to serve on the audit committee. The agency further recommended a vote in favor of Walter Field McLellan, the other non-executive director candidate nominated by Crucible JV.

On the other hand, Sustinvest recommended voting against all candidates nominated by MBK and Young Poong, including Park Byungwook and Choi Yeonseok for other non-executive directors, as well as Choi Byungil and Lee Seonsuk for outside directors.

There is also a difference of opinion between the company and the MBK-Young Poong group regarding the number of directors to be appointed. Sustinvest supported the company's proposal to appoint five directors, while recommending opposition to the MBK-Young Poong group's proposal to appoint six directors.

In its report, Sustinvest explained, "At this time, maintaining management continuity is more reasonable for mid- to long-term corporate value than a management change," and added, "If control changes hands, uncertainty could increase in the process of executing major investments and strategic business projects."

The agency further noted, "MBK and Young Poong are evaluated as risk factors from the perspective of long-term corporate value." It pointed out, "Young Poong has failed to sufficiently secure market trust in managing environmental and safety risks, and there are concerns about MBK Partners' nature as a financial investor focused on short-term returns."

Regarding management performance, Sustinvest commented, "Over the past three years, Korea Zinc has maintained sales growth and stable profitability, whereas Young Poong has experienced continued declines in sales and poor profitability."

The agency also stated its support for governance improvement proposals such as expanding the separate election of audit committee members, codifying the protection of minority shareholders, and introducing electronic general shareholders' meetings.

Meanwhile, other domestic and international proxy advisory firms, such as Glass Lewis and the Korea ESG Research Institute, have also generally expressed support for Korea Zinc's proposals, continuing to back the current management.

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