Sustinbest, a domestic voting rights advisory firm, recommended opposition to all seven director candidates recommended by Chairman Choi Yoon-bum at the annual general meeting of Korea Zinc scheduled for the 28th. At the same time, it opposed the appointment of Kim Kwang-il, vice chairman of MBK Partners, and Kang Seong-du, president of Young Poong, in relation to the responsibility for the Homeplus incident.
According to the financial investment industry on the 23rd, Sustinbest recommended the dismissal of all existing board member candidates, including Korea Zinc CEO Park Gi-deok, in its report analyzing the agenda for the annual general meeting on the 22nd. The current board has prioritized Chairman Choi Yoon-bum's personal management rights over the interests of all shareholders, and it has been pointed out that the role of outside directors in overseeing and monitoring management has not been properly fulfilled.
Sustinbest advised that a board should be formed at Korea Zinc's upcoming annual general meeting that can fulfill the role of oversight and monitoring more independently from management. From this perspective, it recommended opposition to all the newly recommended outside director candidates, including James Andrew Murphy, Jeong Da-mi, and Choi Jae-sik, who were nominated by the current board. These three candidates were suspended from their duties due to a court injunction on the 7th but are individuals who were re-nominated by Chairman Choi Yoon-bum after resigning their directorship.
Sustinbest also recommended opposition to the candidates for the audit committee proposed by Chairman Choi Yoon-bum, Kwon Soon-bum, Lee Min-ho, and Seo Dae-won, stating that they are responsible for harming corporate value due to a lack of supervisory duties toward management and therefore lack the qualifications required for the position.
In contrast, Sustinbest advised support for the seven outside director candidates, including Kwon Kwang-seok, Kim Myung-jun, Kim Soo-jin, Son Ho-sang, Jeong Chang-hwa, Cheon Jun-beom, and Hong Ik-tae, recommended by Young Poong and MBK Partners, similar to the report on the last extraordinary general meeting. However, Sustinbest also opposed the appointment of Kim Kwang-il, vice chairman of MBK Partners, and Kang Seong-du, president of Young Poong, as new directors.
Additionally, Sustinbest supported the positions of MBK Partners and Young Poong regarding the cancellation of treasury shares. MBK and Young Poong maintain that a discretionary reserve of 2 trillion won must be appropriated to ensure the execution of the complete cancellation of treasury shares to eliminate uncertainties around it. At the same time, they recommended support for all proposed amendments to the articles of incorporation suggested by Korea Zinc, including the establishment of a cap on the number of directors, an increase in the number of separately elected audit committee members, the appointment of outside directors as the chair of the board, changes to the dividend record date, and the introduction of quarterly dividends.