MBK announced on the 20th that it had begun legal action, including a criminal complaint for spreading false information and defamation, against Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yoon-beom and CEO Park Ki-deok. MBK argued that the agenda explanatory materials distributed by Korea Zinc ahead of the extraordinary shareholders' meeting on the 9th of next month contained content that damaged the reputation of companies in which MBK has invested. Of the 49-page agenda explanatory materials, Korea Zinc devoted seven pages to criticizing the management of MBK portfolio companies. MBK claims that some of this content constitutes false information that defames the relevant corporations.
The companies cited in the materials as MBK's "management failure cases" have also reportedly sent letters of protest to Chairman Choi's side demanding the removal of the related content and preventing recurrence. Young Poong, Korea Zinc's largest shareholder, is also reviewing legal action. They contend that Chairman Choi's side excluded objective facts and cherry-picked certain content.
An MBK official said, "Chairman Choi and management are distorting facts and defaming reputations by dragging in outside companies unrelated to the shareholders' meeting agenda," adding, "We will take legal action to protect shareholders' rights and interests and market trust."
A Korea Zinc official said, "The agenda explanatory materials were prepared based on materials with public credibility and reliability, such as regulatory procedures, press releases, disclosures, and media reports."
