This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:49 p.m. on Apr. 15, 2026.
The white knights who sided with Chair Choi Yoon-beom in the Korea Zinc control dispute are now looking at hefty gains as the stock surges. As Korea Zinc emerges as a beneficiary of the U.S. critical minerals supply chain realignment and its share price soars, investors who secured friendly equity during the defense of management control are cashing out or weighing the timing of a sale. Following Bain Capital's handover of its stake to Meritz Financial Group for a profit in the 80 billion won range, Hanwha Group has also begun a sale. If Hanwha Group sells its entire stake, some expect it to reap gains approaching 600 billion won.
There is also a view that even if a sale does not happen now, better selling opportunities will emerge. Some securities firms have set a target price for Korea Zinc north of 2 million won. Analysts say the tie-up with the Trump administration is serving as a stronger driver than short-term variables such as firm metal prices, opening the upper band for the stock.
◇ Hanwha also poised to take profits from a "600 billion won windfall"
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 15th, Hanwha Group is in talks with Meritz Securities to sell part of its Korea Zinc equity. Among Hanwha Group affiliates, Hanwha Corp., Hanwha Impact, and Hanwha Power Systems Global hold a combined 7.7% equity in Korea Zinc.
Given that Hanwha Corp. and Hanwha Impact recently sought to sell their holdings to Hong Kong asset managers, Meritz Securities is likely targeting these two companies' equity. Hanwha Corp. and Hanwha Impact hold 238,358 shares and 373,820 shares, respectively.
The sale is known to have been initiated to raise funds for Hanwha Solutions' paid-in capital increase. However, the Financial Supervisory Service has begun a focused review of the Hanwha Solutions paid-in capital increase, delaying the timetable. Although the rights issue schedule is not fixed, the industry views this as a decent time for Hanwha Group to realize gains on its Korea Zinc investment.
The market expects Hanwha's Korea Zinc equity sale price to be set at a discount of about 10%–20% to the market price. Applying a 10% discount to Korea Zinc's 1.65 million won share price that day yields an expected sale price of 1,485,000 won per share. Based on that, Hanwha's equity value exceeds 900 billion won. Considering Hanwha Corp.'s acquisition cost (658,000 won per share) and Hanwha Impact's acquisition cost (under 500,000 won), Hanwha Group is estimated to book more than 560 billion won in capital gains from an equity sale.
Bain Capital, the global private equity (PE) firm that acted as a white knight for Korea Zinc, has already recovered its investment. It sold 419,082 shares (2.01%) of Korea Zinc to Meritz Financial at 1,226,827 won per share, totaling 514.1 billion won. Bain Capital is known to have invested about 430 billion won during the control dispute phase in Oct. 2024. It thus netted profits in the 80 billion won range in less than a year and a half after investing.
The market expects Korea Zinc's stock to rise further. Hyundai Motor Securities last month set a target price of 2.01 million won for Korea Zinc. If Korea Zinc's share price climbs to 2 million won, MBK Partners, the largest shareholder group, is said to be sitting on mark-to-market gains of four times its investment.
◇ Tennessee project rides "de-risking from China"… 2 million won target price appears
While higher zinc and precious metal prices are also a market factor behind Korea Zinc's rally, analysts say cooperation with the United States is fundamentally driving the gains.
Korea Zinc is pushing a project in the United States to extract rare earths by recycling data center waste from big tech companies. Plans under discussion would produce strategic minerals at a local smelter being pursued in Tennessee.
Reuters analyzed that "the Tennessee smelting project ties into the U.S. strategy to reduce dependence on China for rare earths." Given that the Trump administration is accelerating a supply chain realignment that treats critical minerals as national security assets and reduces reliance on China, Korea Zinc is being assessed not merely as an overseas investment destination but as a partner integrated into the U.S. strategy.
Late last year, Korea Zinc decided on a third-party paid-in capital increase into Crucible JV LLC, which includes the U.S. government and strategic investors. The Tennessee project totals $7.4 billion (about 11 trillion won) in project costs.
◇ Backing from U.S. politics… ally Swalwell's resignation is a "blemish"
The United States is seen as the strongest card played by Chair Choi Yoon-beom's side during the control dispute. Washington added funding and policy support to Korea Zinc's Tennessee project, lending weight to it. Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee issued an official statement on the day of last December's Tennessee project announcement, saying, "This project will strengthen national security by expanding mineral production capabilities that support America's advanced industries and defense."
Support from U.S. political circles for Korea Zinc began in late 2024. Rep. Eric Swalwell, then co-chair of the congressional critical minerals caucus, sent an official letter to the State Department expressing concern that the Korea Zinc control dispute could affect the U.S. critical minerals supply chain strategy and urging attention at the government level. In that letter, Rep. Swalwell also described Korea Zinc as a corporation playing an important role in efforts by the United States and its allies to diversify critical minerals supply chains.
However, with Rep. Swalwell recently announcing his resignation amid sexual misconduct allegations, there is a view that one pillar of support for Korea Zinc has weakened. This is because one of the figures who publicly voiced Korea Zinc's case in Washington has exited the front line.