Young Poong and MBK Partners have selected Park Yoo-kyung, former head of responsible investment and governance for the Asia-Pacific region at APG Asset Management, as their candidate for separately elected audit committee member to be recommended at Korea Zinc's extraordinary shareholders' meeting.
According to the investment banking industry Monday, Young Poong and MBK finalized Park as their candidate for an outside director who would serve as a Korea Zinc audit committee member, following verification by an external independent review body. Park will later be nominated as a candidate for separately elected audit committee member through a shareholder proposal from Young Poong and MBK at Korea Zinc's extraordinary shareholders' meeting.
Park headed the responsible investment and governance division for the Asia-Pacific region during about 17 years at APG. From the perspective of global institutional investors, she pursued enhancing the value of investee companies, protecting shareholder rights, and strengthening ESG (environmental, social and governance) practices. APG is an institution that manages the assets of the Dutch pension fund, one of the world's leading pension funds.
This audit committee candidate recommendation was carried out through an open recommendation method to select a figure independent from the interests of any particular shareholder or management. Retail shareholders, corporate governance-related institutions, academia, and expert organizations participated, recommending more than 10 candidates with expertise in various fields including corporate management, accounting, and law. A candidate review committee composed of external experts independent from Korea Zinc's management and major shareholders then conducted the review and selected Park. It is rare in Korea's capital markets for an external review body to select an audit committee candidate for a listed company through open recommendation.
"Through an objective and rigorous review, we examined expertise in global corporate governance, independence, and practical experience," an official from the candidate review committee said. "We expect Park to strengthen the independence and oversight function of Korea Zinc's audit committee and contribute to enhancing the company's long-term corporate value."
