MBK·Yeongpung "Request Investigation on Evidence of Systematic Defamation Against Korea Zinc"

by Lim Chunhan

Published 05 Dec.2024 21:29(KST)

MBK Partners and Youngpoong announced on the 5th that they have detected signs of "reverse viral" (malicious public opinion manipulation) activities in comments on news articles related to Korea Zinc and in online stock discussion forums, and they will request an investigation.

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 request by the Yeongpung-MBK Partners alliance to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

In a press release on the same day, MBK and Youngpoong stated, "We have received continuous reports about accounts posting baseless defamatory comments and malicious stock discussion posts."

Since the public tender offer for Korea Zinc began last September, MBK and Youngpoong analyzed about 15,000 comments registered on approximately 4,000 articles about themselves, as well as about 6,000 posts and related comments in stock discussion forums. Through categorizing defamation patterns, they initially identified around 40 accounts suspected to be part of an organized viral group.

MBK’s special purpose company (SPC), Korea Investment Holdings, and Youngpoong submitted a petition to financial authorities on the 16th of last month regarding similar suspicious cases.

MBK and Youngpoong said, "This investigation request reflects the will of Korea Zinc’s largest shareholder not to tolerate any longer the organized comment activities manipulating public opinion, viral activities on stock boards, and the spread of unverified fake news beyond the petition." They added, "These actions may be punishable under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (Information and Communications Network Act) for defamation, and may also constitute credit defamation under the Criminal Act."