Young Poong and MBK Partners claimed that Korea Zinc's first quarterly net loss since its establishment in the fourth quarter of last year was a consequence of Chairman Choi Yun-beom using company assets to defend his personal management rights.
On the 25th, Young Poong and MBK noted that Korea Zinc recorded a net loss of 245.7 billion won in the fourth quarter of last year, marking the first quarterly net loss since its establishment in 1974. They added that Korea Zinc's projected net profit for 2024 (19.51 billion won) is only 1.6% of its annual revenue (12.05 trillion won).
Young Poong and MBK said, "There was also an impact from foreign exchange losses due to the rise in the dollar's value against the won, but the increased interest expenses from the high-interest short-term borrowings made aggressively for a large-scale stock buyback and other financial costs incurred from various investment failures, such as with the One Asia Fund, have had a significant impact." Korea Zinc's interest expenses rose from 19 billion won in the third quarter of last year to 74.1 billion won in the fourth quarter.
The impairment loss on the 500 billion won that Korea Zinc invested in the One Asia Private Equity Fund increased from 61.5 billion won in 2023 to 157.5 billion won in 2024. Young Poong and MBK stated, "Due to the over 2 trillion won in financial borrowings acquired for the stock buyback, the company has to bear the same level of interest expenses every quarter, making the loss factors not just one-time events."