Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yunbeom Visits Onsan Smelter to Inspect Germanium Plant Preparations

Checking Investment Status in Core Defense Material "Germanium"
Emphasizing Strengthening Strategic Mineral Supply Chain and Safety Management
Expressing Gratitude to the Labor Union for 38 Years Without Labor Disputes

Choi Yunbeom, chairman of Korea Zinc, visited the Onsan Smelter in Ulsan to check the progress of preparations for the new germanium plant. Germanium is a strategic mineral used in defense industries such as night vision devices and thermal imaging cameras. Korea Zinc is investing approximately 140 billion won with the goal of beginning commercial operations in the first half of 2028.

On September 30, Korea Zinc announced that Chairman Choi had visited the Onsan Smelter on the 28th and 29th to inspect the rare metals processing and listen to the challenges faced at the production site. Korea Zinc is the only company in Korea that produces strategic minerals such as antimony, indium, bismuth, and tellurium.

Choi Yunbeom, chairman of Korea Zinc (left), visited the Onsan Smelter in Ulsan on the 28th and 29th to inspect the rare metals processing and listen to the challenges faced at the production site. Korea Zinc

Chairman Choi attended a team leaders' meeting, urging employees to "take pride in contributing to the national interest as a key industry possessing core national technologies." He also expressed his gratitude to the labor union for concluding the 2025 wage and collective bargaining agreement without any disputes, stating, "Achieving 38 consecutive years without a labor dispute is an even greater accomplishment than 102 consecutive profitable quarters."

Moon Byungguk, head of the labor union, reportedly expressed his appreciation to the management for sustaining the company despite management disputes and an unstable external environment. He also mentioned the 38,000 shares of company stock (worth approximately 40.5 billion won at the time) that Chairman Choi contributed to the in-house employee welfare fund earlier this year, and requested continued support for employee welfare.

Chairman Choi concluded by emphasizing that "safety is a value that cannot be exchanged for anything else," and called for strengthened on-site safety management.