The National Pension Service effectively decided to oppose the appointment of Chair Choi Yoon-beom, who is in a dispute with Young Poong over control of Korea Zinc, as an inside director. In response, the Korea Zinc union defended Choi's side and demanded the plan be withdrawn, while Young Poong expressed the opposite view, saying it means "the National Pension Service does not trust the current management system."
According to the business community on the 20th, the Korea Zinc union issued a statement the same day, saying, "We strongly condemn the deceitful decision by the National Pension Service to hand over a national key industry to speculative capital."
The National Pension Service's Stewardship Responsibility Special Committee held its fifth meeting on the 19th and decided to "not exercise" its voting rights on the agenda items at Korea Zinc's shareholders meeting on the 24th regarding the appointment of Choi Yoon-beom as an inside director, Hwang Deok-nam as an outside director, and Park Byung-uk as another non-executive director.
The agenda concerns director appointments under the cumulative voting system. The cumulative voting system is a system that allows shareholders to vote by granting them voting rights equal to the number of directors to be appointed and concentrating them on the desired candidates. The National Pension Service's decision not to exercise its voting rights is interpreted as effectively opposing Choi's reappointment.
The union said, "By deciding not to exercise its voting rights on Choi's reappointment, the National Pension Service opened the door for personnel from MBK Partners, a speculative capital firm, to enter the board," adding, "This is effectively a treacherous bystander act that hands the keys of the world's No. 1 smelter to a predatory private equity fund."
It also cited the case of Homeplus Co., which MBK acquired and operated before applying for court receivership last year due to worsening management. The union said, "After acquiring Homeplus, MBK drove out workers who had worked for 11 years onto the streets and sold off prime stores to line its own pockets, acting as corporate raiders," adding, "For the National Pension Service to throw a national key industry to them as prey is a breach of duty to the public and a declaration of war on workers."
It also stressed that Korea Zinc is a national security asset that supplies key materials for future industries. The union warned, "The moment MBK enters through the gate opened by the National Pension Service, the unrivaled technology built up over decades will scatter abroad," adding, "The Commissioners who took part in the decision and the leadership of the National Pension Service must bear responsibility for the collapse of the industrial ecosystem and the outflow of national wealth that will ensue."
The union urged the National Pension Service to "immediately withdraw the decision not to exercise voting rights to protect national key industries and stabilize employment, and promptly establish measures related to industrial security."
By contrast, Young Poong signaled support for the National Pension Service's decision. In a statement issued the same day, Young Poong argued, "The National Pension Service's decision either withholds judgment on the current management's qualifications or in effect evaluates them negatively."
Young Poong reiterated, "The National Pension Service also explicitly expressed opposition to two candidates for the audit committee nominated by the company, citing 'damage to corporate value and infringement of shareholder rights.' This amounts to an official indication that Korea Zinc's board and audit bodies have not sufficiently performed their inherent monitoring and oversight functions." It also explained that this assessment aligns with recommendations from external global advisory firms such as ISS.