Korea Zinc Chairman Yoonbeom Choi to Discuss 'Critical Minerals Supply Chain' at Davos

First Official Appearance Since Announcing U.S. Smelter Investment
Seeking Global Partnerships and Delivering a Keynote as a Speaker

Yoonbeom Choi, Chairman of Korea Zinc, will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF, also known as the Davos Forum) to discuss the future direction of the global critical minerals supply chain. This marks his second consecutive appearance at the Davos Forum following last year.

On January 15, Korea Zinc announced that Chairman Choi will participate in the WEF Annual Meeting, which will be held in Davos, Switzerland from January 19 to 23. This will be his first appearance on the global stage since Korea Zinc officially launched its U.S. smelter construction project. The company stated that it plans to use this forum as an opportunity to continue discussions on government and private sector cooperation regarding critical minerals supply chains.

Yoonbeom Choi, Chairman of Korea Zinc. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

During the forum, Chairman Choi will serve as an official speaker in a session themed "Strategic Partnerships and Investment in Critical Minerals." This session will bring together government officials from major resource-producing countries and CEOs of minerals and metals companies to discuss ways to stabilize supply chains and invest in infrastructure.

In Davos, individual meetings are also scheduled with CEOs from the energy and minerals sectors. Meetings with senior officials from international organizations, including the International Energy Agency (IEA), are also planned. The discussions are expected to focus on potential supply chain cooperation, particularly around Korea Zinc's ongoing U.S. smelter project. Korea Zinc is expanding its resource recycling and renewable energy-related businesses, primarily in the United States and Australia.

Before the forum, Chairman Choi emphasized the role of the "circular economy" in critical minerals supply chains in a contributed article published on the official Davos Forum website. He pointed out that relying solely on traditional mine development has limitations in achieving the expansion of renewable energy and electrification goals, and stressed the need for a system to recover and recycle metals from used batteries and solar panels. Korea Zinc is securing recycled raw materials through its U.S. subsidiary, Pedalpoint, which recovers metal resources from electronic waste.

Chairman Choi is currently a member of the WEF Mining and Metals Governors Steering Committee. During this forum, he will also attend the "Future Materials Program Steering Committee" meeting, which will discuss the medium- to long-term transformation of the materials industry.

This year’s Davos Forum is being held under the theme "A Spirit of Dialogue," with participation from political and business leaders from over 130 countries around the world.