Lee Gyuseong, a lawyer at Weon Law Firm, noted on the 17th that he sent a shareholder letter containing corporate normalization measures to TPLEX, a KOSDAQ-listed company. Weon is the legal representative of small shareholders' solidarity, who hold over 1% of all issued shares of TPLEX for more than six months.
The lawyer pointed out in the shareholder letter that TPLEX is undervalued and overly family-managed. The price-to-net-worth ratio (PBR; market capitalization ÷ net worth) of TPLEX was 0.48 times based on the closing price on the 14th. This means that the company's stock price is less than half of its liquidation value.
Additionally, TPLEX recorded an operating loss of 2.2 billion won in 2023, but the total compensation for executives, including CEO Kim Young-guk (2.344 billion won) and Director Kim Tae-soo (615 million won), was 2.958 billion won. Looking back over a five-year period, executives Kim and Kim took home 928.7 million won from TPLEX's cumulative operating profit of 45.3 billion won. During the same period, the total amount of dividends returned to shareholders was only 3.033 billion won.
The lawyer emphasized that family management makes normal checks and balances within the company impossible. Currently, out of seven TPLEX executives, four are related to the CEO, with three out of the four board members, excluding one outside director, having family ties to the CEO.
The lawyer demanded the implementation of 100 won in dividends to expand shareholder returns and the appointment of former TPLEX Vice President Ku Hee-chan as an internal auditor to oversee the company's management and manage risks.
He also proposed the establishment of a new 'executive compensation regulation' to prevent a small number of board members from taking excessive compensation from the company's revenue. The plan is to set the maximum compensation limit for all directors to be approved at the shareholders' meeting, ensuring it does not exceed the total amount of dividends from the previous fiscal year's settlement of accounts.
The lawyer plans to raise this as a shareholder proposal at the regular shareholders' meeting in March. He stated, "I will ensure the appointment of an auditor to represent small shareholders and the establishment of the executive compensation regulation at this shareholders' meeting."