This article was published on July 22, 2025, at 10:21 a.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Zinitix, a system semiconductor specialist and a KOSDAQ listed company, confirmed on the 21st that it has received a ruling from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy that its design technology qualifies as a national core technology.
Zinitix, whose current management and largest shareholder (holding 35.45% equity) is Halo Micro Electronics International Corporation (Halo), previously postponed its extraordinary general meeting citing its application for designation as a national core technology. The designation of this technology impedes Halo's ability to appoint directors as foreign capital, making Zinitix's extraordinary general meeting uncertain.
According to the industry on the 22nd, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy notified the company that Zinitix's "touch controller embedded AMOLED display driving SoC design technology" qualifies as a national core technology in the semiconductor field.
With this, Zinitix is now subject to the application of the "Protection of Industrial Technology against Leakage Act." In the future, when the company engages in foreign investments such as mergers and acquisitions or joint ventures, it must obtain the Minister's approval or report it. Approval from the Minister is also required when a foreigner participates in core decision-making involving management activities.
As a result, the Halo side's general meeting is expected to face disruptions. Previously, in August of the previous year, Halo acquired 30.93% of Zinitix's equity from Seoul Electronics & Telecom and others for a total of 21 billion won at 1,901 won per share, becoming the largest shareholder.
However, in April of this year, Halo requested the court to allow the convening of an extraordinary general meeting to process dismissal motions for CEO Kwon Seok-man and four other executives, including Non-Executive Director Nam In-kyun. The current management involved in the conflict had previously served as executives of Halo.
Halo argued that the current management poses a risk of technology leakage by establishing similar companies and planned to select three new directors to reorganize the company. An extraordinary general meeting was scheduled for the 9th, but the company postponed it to the 23rd, citing the need to allow time for the notification and approval concerning the national core technology designation.
There was controversy over whether the technology was considered core, but as Zinitix's technology is recognized as a national core technology, the items for the extraordinary general meeting, such as the appointment of directors including Tao Hai, the chairman of Halo, who are presented by the Chinese capital side as part of the effort to secure management control, have become subject to government review. Even if a general meeting is held immediately, Halo's actions regarding equity would be impossible. Halo is the international corporation of Halo Microelectronics, which is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Some believe that the current management could hold an extraordinary general meeting. Since the current management chairs the extraordinary general meeting, they could block the passage of agenda items when the largest shareholder cannot exercise its equity rights. Although Halo holds more than 30% equity, two-thirds of the shareholders present at the extraordinary general meeting must approve the agenda item for it to be put forward.