[Exclusive] Korea Zinc Shifts to Three-CEO System... Establishes New Business Dedicated Team

Appointment of Park Ki-deok as TD Business General Manager
Promotion of Jeong Tae-ung to Smelting Business General Manager
Jeong Mu-gyeong appointed Chairman of Sustainable Management Division
At the company's first Investor Day on the 7th
Explanation of strategies and directions for each business division
Vision for 10% annual growth over the next 10 years
2.5 times sales expansion with 17 trillion KRW investment

Korea Zinc has recently established two new divisions in an organizational restructuring to concentrate resources and capabilities necessary for securing new growth engines and to enhance the efficiency of its core businesses, as confirmed on the 8th.

Korea Zinc created the ‘TD (Troika Drive) Business Division,’ dedicated to new businesses, and the ‘Smelting Business Division,’ overseeing the existing smelting operations, establishing a three-president system managing ‘new business - existing business - sustainable management’ respectively.

Park Ki-deok was appointed as the head of the TD Business Division. Born in 1968, Park graduated from Busan National University with a degree in Business Administration. He has served as CFO of Korea Zinc’s Australian subsidiary SMC, head of the Planning Headquarters, and head of the Resource Circulation Headquarters. He has worked closely with Chairman Choi Yoon-beom for a long time.

Jung Tae-woong, head of the Materials Purchasing Headquarters, was appointed as the head of the Smelting Business Division and promoted to president. Born in 1967, Jung graduated from Soongsil University with a degree in Business Administration and has worked for over 10 years in the materials team at Korea Zinc’s headquarters. Both Park and Jung continue to hold their previous positions concurrently.

The Sustainable Management Division is led by Jung Moo-kyung, chairman of the Sustainable Management Committee. Jung graduated from Korea University with a degree in Economics and entered public service through the 31st Administrative Examination. After working at the Blue House in 2007, he served as Financial and Economic Policy Officer at the Prime Minister’s Office, Director-General of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and Administrator of the Public Procurement Service.

These three attended Korea Zinc’s first-ever Investor Day held on the 7th at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, where they directly explained business strategies and directions. On this day, Korea Zinc announced a business vision to grow at an average annual rate of 10% over the next 10 years, increasing total sales by 2.5 times.

Choi Yoon-beom, Chairman of Korea Zinc Photo by Korea Zinc

The company set a goal to raise sales from new businesses such as batteries and hydrogen to the level of its existing core smelting business by 2033, achieving annual sales of KRW 25.3 trillion.

The TD Business Division, responsible for the three major new businesses, plans to increase sales from KRW 100 billion this year to KRW 12.2 trillion in 2033, while smelting business sales are expected to grow from KRW 10 trillion to KRW 13 trillion during the same period. In 2021, Chairman Choi declared the Troika Drive management strategy, focusing on three new growth engines: secondary battery materials industry, renewable energy and green hydrogen, and recycling resource circulation.

Korea Zinc plans to achieve sales of KRW 5.3 trillion in the secondary battery materials business with an annual production capacity of 85,000 tons of nickel sulfate, 80,000 tons of precursors, and 60,000 tons of copper foil. For renewable energy such as green hydrogen, the company aims to build a production capacity of 4.6GW and generate sales of KRW 900 billion by 2033. The resource circulation business plans to secure annual processing capacities of 230,000 tons of electronic waste (E-waste), 320,000 tons of solar panel waste, and 100,000 tons of pre- and post-processing of waste batteries by 2030, targeting sales of KRW 6 trillion in 2033.

On the 7th, at the 2023 Korea Zinc Investor Day Q&A session held at Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, Park Ki-deok, President of the TD Business Division (second from the left), is answering questions. (From the left) Lee Sang-geun, Head of Planning Headquarters; Jung Moo-kyung, Chairman of the Sustainable Management Headquarters; President Park; Park Ki-won, Head of TD Technology Headquarters; Jung Tae-woong, President of the Smelting Business Division; Kim Jung-woo, Head of Smelting Technology Headquarters. [Photo by Korea Zinc]

The Smelting Business Division focuses on improving production efficiency through process rationalization. The ‘All-in-One Nickel Smelter’ under construction in Ulsan is scheduled for completion in 2026, adding nickel processing to the existing zinc, lead, and copper processes to maximize recovery rates of the four major non-ferrous metals through an integrated process. Future growth drivers for the smelting division include electrolytic copper and semiconductor-grade sulfuric acid.

The Sustainable Management Division is committed to establishing an eco-friendly production system. From 2020 to 2040, the company plans to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 40%, with an additional 60% reduction targeted by 2050. To achieve this, Korea Zinc will progressively implement facility improvements at the Onsan smelter and introduce renewable energy such as solar power.

Korea Zinc also disclosed its investment financing plans and shareholder return policies. Over the next 10 years, the company will invest KRW 12 trillion in the TD division and KRW 5 trillion in the smelting division. During the same period, it plans to implement various shareholder return policies worth KRW 4 trillion, including dividends, share buybacks, and cancellations.