'Battery Ajusshi' Park Soon-hyuk: "I Resigned... Unable to Continue Working at the Company"

Conflict with Exchange over Disclosure of Public Announcement on YouTube

It was reported on the 16th that Park Soon-hyuk, Director of Public Relations at Geumyang, who gained popularity among individual investors under the nickname 'Battery Ajusshi,' has tendered his resignation from the company. This came shortly after Geumyang was preliminarily designated as a non-compliant disclosure corporation by the Korea Exchange.

On the same day, Director Park stated in an interview with multiple domestic media outlets, "I am in a situation where I cannot continue working at the company," adding, "I submitted my resignation today, and it has been accepted." He further claimed, "I heard from the company that the Korea Exchange told the company that if I continue to handle public relations at Geumyang, there could be various disadvantages in the future," and said, "I decided to quit to avoid causing trouble for the company."

Park Soon-hyuk, Director of Public Relations at Geumyang

Park, a former analyst at Daehan Investment Trust (now Hana Securities), has recently emphasized the growth potential of the electric vehicle battery (secondary battery) sector on social media platforms such as YouTube. He particularly recommended domestic secondary battery-related stocks like Ecopro BM and POSCO Holdings, which surged sharply, earning him a reputation mainly among individual investors. Leveraging his popularity, he also published a book titled K-Battery Revolution last February.

However, conflict arose after the Korea Exchange announced sanctions regarding a YouTube video in which he disclosed Geumyang’s plan to sell treasury shares worth 170 billion KRW.

On the 24th of last month, the Korea Exchange issued a preliminary notice designating Geumyang as a non-compliant disclosure corporation due to "delayed disclosure of the plan to dispose of treasury shares." The Exchange deemed it inappropriate that Director Park personally revealed the company’s treasury share purchase plan before the company’s official disclosure.

The Korea Exchange reportedly denied Director Park’s claim that "the Exchange effectively pressured him to resign." They stated that they only advised the company to comply strictly with disclosure regulations and never pressured Director Park personally to resign.