[Market Focus] Korea Zinc Surges Over 8% on News of U.S. Equity Investment

On the morning of December 15, Korea Zinc's stock price rose by over 8% on the domestic stock market. This surge follows news that the company plans to establish a strategic mineral smelter in the United States worth 10 trillion won, with the U.S. government reportedly set to invest in the project.

As of 9:15 a.m. on this day, Korea Zinc was trading at 1.65 million won per share, up 8.7% from the previous session. The stock had soared by more than 20% immediately after the market opened, but has since maintained a single-digit increase.

This rally appears to be driven by reports that Korea Zinc will build a strategic mineral smelter worth 10 trillion won in the southeastern United States. Korea Zinc is scheduled to decide on the investment at a board meeting later in the morning. The smelter is expected to be developed through a joint venture between Korea Zinc and its U.S. partners.

Investor interest intensified following reports that, as part of the U.S. investment and financing support, entities such as the Department of Defense and defense strategy companies are considering acquiring stakes in Korea Zinc through third-party paid-in capital increases. It is considered highly unusual for the U.S. government to directly hold shares in a Korean private company. Analysts see this move as part of a "Korea-U.S. strategic resource alliance" aimed at countering China's "weaponization of resources," as China currently dominates the global rare earth supply chain.

Meanwhile, the alliance of Young Poong and MBK Partners issued a statement on the same day, claiming that Chairman Choi Yoonbum's plan to build a smelter in the United States and implement a third-party allocation paid-in capital increase amounts to "abandoning zinc sovereignty" for the purpose of defending management control.