KT Small Shareholders: "The CEO Appointment Process Is Unreasonable... No Parachute CEO Allowed"

"They promised to protect fairness, common sense, and free economy, but the KT senior executive appointment process was not reasonable."

Minority shareholders of KT criticized the KT board of directors and management, who caused management confusion due to repeated failures in appointing the CEO.

A, the operator of the 'KT Shareholders' Cafe,' a KT minority shareholder group, said at a meeting with reporters immediately after the KT general shareholders' meeting on the 31st, "We must prevent political forces and non-experts from interfering with the company and causing management disruptions by changing the articles of incorporation to ensure no external pressure or influence occurs at KT."

The individual shareholders gathered in this cafe hold a total of 3.9 million shares, accounting for a 1.5% stake. The shareholders in the group demanded on this day ▲ implementation of quarterly dividends in a way beneficial to shareholders ▲ expansion of the scale of treasury stock cancellation in this buyback ▲ expansion of dividend payout ratio and regularization of treasury stock cancellation.

A said, "While competitors are growing day by day, it is very concerning that a management vacuum is occurring under these circumstances," and questioned, "Is it reasonable that CEO candidates keep withdrawing, leading to an emergency management system and a 52-week low stock price?"

He continued, "The opinions of individual shareholders should be reflected to ensure fair and reasonable corporate management," and said, "(President Park Jong-wook) talks about normalization at the earliest in five months. Our group is a gathering of individual shareholders, so we will strive to help the company recover its stock price through stable dividends and other means."

He added, "Individual shareholders want to raise their voices so that KT moves in a better direction," and said, "I hope Korean companies no longer receive the 'Korea discount,' and if we continue to raise such voices, management will not be able to ignore individual shareholders."

Regarding solidarity with POSCO shareholders, who are experiencing similar situations, he said, "I hope such incidents do not happen at POSCO, but if they do in the future and POSCO shareholders ask to share KT's experience, we will cooperate."

Meanwhile, at the general meeting on the same day, only four agenda items were submitted: ▲ approval of financial statements ▲ partial amendment of the articles of incorporation ▲ approval of the director remuneration limit ▲ revision of the executive retirement allowance regulations, all of which were approved as originally proposed. The agenda to extend the term of outside directors?Professor Kang Chung-gu of Korea University’s Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Professor Yeo Eun-jung of Chung-Ang University’s Department of Business Administration, and former Lotte Rental CEO Pyoh Yeon-myung?was automatically discarded as these directors resigned just before the general meeting.