Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, said on the 11th that the ministry is "aware" of various allegations surrounding KT's governance and "will make sure follow-up measures proceed transparently."
At a business report to the National Assembly's Science. ICT. Broadcasting. and Communications Committee that day, Bae responded to a remark by Kim Woo-young of the Democratic Party of Korea, who said, "KT is facing a deepening governance crisis, including allegations of misconduct by outside directors, the board's organized cover-up, and destruction of management records. This is not merely a management control issue for a private company, but a matter in which a key telecommunications carrier's governance is directly tied to competitiveness, so the government should use its fact-finding authority under the Telecommunications Business Act to hold the outdated board accountable and investigate and take action against violations," with the comments above.
Kim also noted that the National Pension Service changed its investment purpose in KT as of Feb. 5 from "simple investment" to "general investment," and asked, "Can this be seen as an intent to exercise active shareholder rights, such as appointing directors and amending the articles of incorporation, to enhance corporate value?" The Minister answered, "That appears to be the case."
Regarding whether the National Pension Service, KT's second-largest shareholder, recently changing its investment purpose in KT from simple investment to general investment can be seen as an intent to exercise active shareholder rights such as amending the articles of incorporation to enhance the value of corporations, the deputy prime minister said, "That appears to be the case."
Kim said that day, "After the KT security leak incident, it is time for the government authorities to issue comprehensive recommendations and actively enforce them regarding governance and management responsibility as a national key telecommunications carrier." In response, the deputy prime minister said, "I have heard that KT is also handling some matters on its own under the Commercial Act, its articles of incorporation, and other relevant rules," adding, "However, from the government's standpoint, we will carefully and thoroughly review the areas that need to be examined together."