Former APG Head Park Yoo-kyung Nominated as Korea Zinc Independent Auditor Candidate

Korea Zinc's largest shareholder, YoungPoong, and MBK Partners have nominated Park Yoo-kyung, former head of APG Asset Management's Asia-Pacific Responsible Investment and Governance, as an outside director candidate. Park is slated to become an independent auditor, a role mandated by amendments to the Commercial Act, requiring Korea Zinc to appoint such a position by a temporary shareholders' meeting in September.

This nomination process is notable as it was driven by shareholders through a public recommendation. YoungPoong and MBK Partners highlighted this as a pioneering instance in the domestic capital market where an external review body, independent of both the company and the recommending shareholders, vetted and selected the candidate for an auditor position. This initiative aims to bolster the independence and oversight capabilities of Korea Zinc's audit committee, shielding it from the vested interests of any specific shareholder or management.

Park brings a wealth of experience from her 17-year tenure at APG, one of the world's largest pension funds. There, she oversaw responsible investment and corporate governance for the Asia-Pacific region and managed emerging market equity strategies. Her work focused on enhancing corporate value, protecting shareholder rights, and improving ESG and corporate governance practices from a long-term institutional investor perspective. She has actively engaged with major listed companies in Korea and abroad to strengthen board independence, safeguard shareholder rights, and promote sustainable management, contributing to the advancement of corporate governance in Korea and the broader capital market.

Currently, Park serves as a board member and audit committee chair for the Tara Climate Foundation. She has also held positions such as a member of the National Pension Service's ESG Committee, a member of the Korean Stewardship Code Establishment Committee, and an advisor to the General Shareholder Committee under the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. For approximately ten years until last year, she chaired the Korean working group of the Asia Corporate Governance Association, demonstrating extensive expertise and a robust network in the field of corporate governance both domestically and internationally.

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This is a meaningful case as it is the first instance in the domestic capital market where shareholders led the public recommendation process for an auditor candidate, and an external review body, independent of both the company and the recommending shareholders, vetted and selected the candidate.