Daol Securities Chairman Lee Byung-chul's 'Landslide Victory' at General Meeting, All Proposals by Second Largest Shareholder Rejected

All Agenda Items Rejected for 'Super Gaemi' CEO Kim Kisu

At the Daol Investment & Securities shareholders' meeting, all shareholder proposals from Kim Gisu, the representative of Presto Investment Advisory and the second largest shareholder, were rejected, resulting in a decisive victory for Lee Byung-chul, chairman of Daol Financial Group.

Hwang Junho, CEO of Daol Investment & Securities, is delivering the opening address at the regular shareholders' meeting on the 15th. / Photo by Lee Seunghyung

At the 44th regular shareholders' meeting of Daol Investment & Securities held on the 15th, all shareholder proposals submitted by Representative Kim were rejected. All agenda items proposed by the board, including the appointment of outside directors and audit committee members, were passed as originally planned. A cash dividend of 150 won per common share was resolved.

Prior to the meeting, Representative Kim proposed shareholder proposals including ▲ the establishment of a recommendatory shareholder proposal system ▲ differential cash dividends ▲ the introduction of a remuneration review system at shareholders' meetings ▲ capital increase through paid-in capital ▲ reporting on subsidiary sales ▲ partial amendment of executive retirement pay regulations.

At the meeting, 77.4% of shareholders exercised their voting rights through delegation, on-site attendance, and electronic voting. All shareholder proposals from Representative Kim, known as a "super individual investor," were either rejected or automatically discarded. In particular, agenda item No. 2-1, "Establishment of a Recommendatory Shareholder Proposal System," received only 26.6% support. Other proposals from Representative Kim also failed to gain more than 26-29% support and were rejected.

A representative from Kim’s side attending the meeting stated, "The company should not be operated solely for individual private interests," adding, "Increasing the shareholder return rate would serve as a model case for the government’s corporate value-up program." He further said, "There is a misalignment of interests between management and shareholders," and "We hope that someone takes responsibility for the deterioration of both stock price and performance." Nevertheless, minority shareholders, who held the 'casting vote,' sided with Chairman Lee.

Jeon Sugwang, head of the Management Support Division at Daol Investment & Securities, said, "The recent poor performance was due to losses from conservative reserve accumulation," and added, "From this year, we expect performance improvement through stabilization of real estate positions and expansion of new revenue sources." He also explained, "We thoroughly reviewed the inside and outside directors proposed by the board and believe they will contribute significantly to the company’s future development."

Additionally, Hwang Junho, CEO of Daol Investment & Securities, stated, "From a mid- to long-term perspective, we will build a balanced business portfolio and become a strong company that consistently achieves double-digit return on equity (ROE)."