Korea Zinc has appointed its first outside director as chairperson of the board since its establishment. The new chairperson, lawyer Hwang Deok-nam, is an expert with 40 years of experience in the legal and labor fields and is also the first female chairperson.
Korea Zinc held a board meeting on the 5th and appointed outside director Hwang Deok-nam as chairperson, the company noted. This follows the passage of a measure to appoint an outside director as chairperson at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting in January.
The board regulations were also amended. Previously, the regulations specified that the chairperson would be the president, but it has been changed to allow for the chairperson to be determined from among outside directors by board resolution. The authority to convene the board will also be granted to the chairperson instead of the president.
Earlier, Choi Yoon-beom, chairman of Korea Zinc, expressed his intention to step down from the position of chairperson during a press conference in November of last year. At that time, Choi said, “We will amend the articles of incorporation that stipulate that the chairman takes on the role of board chairperson so that an outside director can become the chairperson.”
Chairperson Hwang has served as a judge at the Seoul District Court and the Seoul High Court and has held the position of legal secretary at the Blue House. She has been a commissioner for organizations such as the Gender Equality Improvement Committee, the Central Labor Relations Commission, and the National Human Rights Commission, and is currently serving as a director for the Korean Committee for UNICEF. At Korea Zinc, she is active as chairperson of the outside director candidate nomination committee, a member of the internal transaction committee, and a member of the ESG committee.
The regulations for the ESG committee, established in December of last year, have also been newly formulated, granting authority to report and approve matters related to the company's environmental, social, and governance sustainability management. The committee includes Chairperson Hwang Deok-nam, Professor Kim Bo-young from Hanyang University College of Business, and Lee Min-ho, head of the ESG Center at Yulchon Law Firm, as three outside directors.
Additionally, it has been decided to submit matters such as establishing basic policies and strategies for ESG management and setting medium- to long-term goals for ESG to the committee. Plans and achievements regarding ESG management activities, as well as reports on significant ESG-related risks and responses, will also be presented to the committee.
The board also approved funding agenda items. The issuance of corporate bonds is focused on a plan to issue public bonds worth 400 billion won. The funds raised from the public bonds will be used to refinance the borrowing funds incurred during the company's share buyback last year.