Choi Yoon-beom "Rights Offering to Prevent Hostile Takeover" Foreign Media Interview... MBK Side Says "Admitting It Was Planned"

MBK Partners and Yeongpung stated on the 20th that Choi Yoon-beom, chairman of Korea Zinc, admitted in a media interview that the general public offering rights issue was planned for the purpose of defending management rights, which contradicts their previous position.

The MBK-Yeongpung alliance issued a press release on the same day pointing out that Chairman Choi made such remarks in an interview with foreign media.

In the Bloomberg interview reported that day, Chairman Choi apologized to shareholders for attempting the rights issue, saying, "I was obsessed with the need to fend off hostile takeover attempts, and I was trapped in a narrow perspective because I was convinced that it (the rights issue) was good for the company, shareholders, and employees."

At a press conference on the 13th, Chairman Choi also responded during a Q&A session with reporters, "If it was expected that withdrawing this rights issue would lead to certain defeat, I would have considered pushing forward with it (the rights issue) even if it was somewhat excessive," the MBK-Yeongpung alliance claimed.

Choi Yoon-beom, Chairman of Korea Zinc, is speaking at a Korea Zinc press conference held on the 13th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul. On the same day, Chairman Choi stated, "I will step down from the position of chairman of the board as soon as possible and have an outside director take over as chairman of the Korea Zinc board." Photo by Kim Hyun-min

They emphasized, "Such remarks by Chairman Choi repeatedly admit that the general public offering rights issue was pre-planned as a tool for a shareholding battle with the largest shareholders, MBK and Yeongpung."

They further cited legal experts, stating, "This is tantamount to confessing that the true purpose of the general public offering rights issue was to maintain his management rights and that the rights issue was pre-planned. The Korea Zinc side’s claim that the rights issue was urgently decided due to market conditions moving differently from predictions is a hastily made excuse."

They evaluated that Chairman Choi’s remarks directly contradict the original purposes stated in the rights issue securities registration statement and withdrawal report, such as 'investor protection due to the risk of designation as a management item' and 'financial structure stabilization.'

MBK and Yeongpung added, "False statements of important matters and false disclosures constitute violations of the Capital Markets Act," and "The Supreme Court has recently ruled that disclosures are essential elements to maintain fairness and reliability in the capital market beyond a mere administrative procedure, and false disclosures or omissions of important information are considered acts that undermine trust in the capital market."