Korea Zinc to Hold Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting in September...Renewed Push to Appoint Audit Committee Members

Agenda to Appoint Separately Elected Audit Committee Members and Independent Directors

Approval of Investment in Australian Renewable Energy Project

Korea Zinc will convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders this September to elect new audit committee members through a separate election process. The company also confirmed its investment in the Australian renewable energy initiative, the Richmond Valley Project, as part of its efforts to secure future growth engines.

A view of the Onsan Smelter of Korea Zinc. Korea Zinc

On July 21, Korea Zinc announced that it held a board meeting and resolved to convene the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on September 9 at the Mondrian Hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

The agenda for the meeting will include: ▲ an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation to expand the number of audit committee members separately elected ▲ the appointment of four independent directors via cumulative voting ▲ and the election of one independent director as a member of the audit committee.

According to the revised Commercial Act, large listed companies are required to appoint at least two audit committee members through a separate election process by September 10. At Korea Zinc’s regular general meeting in March, the relevant agenda was rejected by opposition from MBK Partners and Young Poong, so the company is pursuing the matter again at this extraordinary meeting.

Additionally, to fill vacancies created by the mid-term resignation of four independent directors in June, four new independent directors will be appointed using the cumulative voting method. This agenda was proposed by Yumi Development and the MBK Partners–Young Poong group.

A Korea Zinc official stated, "This is to comply with the amended Commercial Act and to enhance the stability of board operations," adding, "We will continue our efforts to enhance shareholder value and improve corporate governance."

At the board meeting held that day, approval was also given for investment in the Richmond Valley Project, a renewable energy development in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

The Richmond Valley Project is an initiative led by Arc Energy, a subsidiary of Korea Zinc’s Australian operations, integrating battery energy storage systems (BESS) with solar power generation. The project aims for a storage capacity of 2,200 MWh and a generation capacity of 200 MW, with commercial operation targeted for 2029.

This project was selected as a Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) operator by the NSW state government, thereby securing a stable revenue base. Integrating solar power and BESS is also expected to reduce costs and improve power generation efficiency. The renewable energy produced will be supplied to Australia’s smelter operations and, in the future, to the Onsan Smelter Complex as well.

Korea Zinc plans to support the project’s execution by investing funds in Sun Metals Holdings (SMH), the parent company of operator Arc Energy.

A Korea Zinc representative commented, "The Richmond Valley Project is a key initiative for business diversification and the transition to eco-friendly energy," and added, "It will also contribute to establishing a stable long-term revenue base."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.