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Korea Zinc labor union blasts NPS for withholding vote to reappoint corporate chair to board

Published: 22 Mar. 2026, 17:36 Updated: 23 Mar. 2026, 17:41

JIN MIN-JI
[email protected]

Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-birm speaks during a session at the 2026 IEA Ministerial Meeting in France on Feb. 18. [YONHAP]

Korea Zinc’s labor union criticized the state-run pension fund’s decision to withhold its vote on the corporate chairman’s reappointment as an internal board member, calling it a failure to safeguard a national strategic industry.

The criticism comes as the National Pension Service (NPS) decided not to vote on candidates nominated by Korea Zinc’s current management, including Chairman Choi Yun-birm, at the company’s March 24 annual general meeting, according to reports from multiple local media outlets on Sunday.

Instead, the institution plans to support Walter McLellan, nominated by Crucible JV — a joint venture backed by Korea Zinc and the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Commerce — as well as candidates backed by the Young Poong–MBK alliance, which has been locked in a management control dispute with Korea Zinc since 2024.

Korea Zinc is one of the world’s largest nonferrous metal smelting companies, produces zinc, silver and lead. As one of the world’s top zinc producers, it plays a key role in the global supply of refined metals. NPS holds a 5.2 percent stake in the company, making it a major shareholder capable of playing a decisive role in the meeting.

Korea Zinc headquarters in central Seoul [YONHAP]

The pension fund “should not use the people’s hard-earned retirement funds as a tool that destroys jobs,” said Korea Zinc’s labor union in response to the NPS’s decision. “We strongly condemn this deceptive decision, which we believe effectively hands over a key national industry to speculative capital.”

Calling the decision “cowardly and irresponsible,” the union said it would “hand the key to the world’s No. 1 smelter to a predatory private equity fund,” referring to MBK Partners, one of Korea’s largest private equity funds. “The moment MBK enters through the gate opened by the NPS, our unrivaled technology will be scattered overseas,” the union added.

The NPS’s decision has drawn fierce criticism as it faces significant losses from backing MBK’s 2015 acquisition of the loss-making Homeplus.

The NPS also voted in favor of a nonexecutive director candidate affiliated with MBK Partners, despite opposition from seven domestic and international proxy advisory firms, including Korea ESG Research Institute and Sustinvest, which argued that it is undesirable to include an individual representing a specific shareholder on the board.

“Considering the nature of a private equity fund, it’s difficult to fully exclude the possibility that it prioritizes the interests of specific shareholders over those of all shareholders,” said Korea ESG Research Institute, adding that two nonexecutive directors representing the Young Poong-MBK alliance are already on the board. “Given the current board composition, appointing directors free from conflicts of interest is more necessary to effectively strengthen oversight,” it added.

Korea Zinc has faced a management dispute with the Young Poong-MBK alliance since 2024, when the alliance launched a hostile takeover bid.

BY JIN MIN-JI [[email protected]]