Clients back Korea Zinc in management feud against MBK Partners

Kim Byung-ju, Chairman of MBK Partners(left), and Choi Yun-beom, Chairman of Korea Zinc. (Each company)

About 80 client companies of Korea Zinc Co. raised concerns on Monday about the potential hostile takeover of the South Korean non-ferrous metal smelting company by MBK Partners, a private equity firm, and Young Poong Co., Korea Zinc’s largest shareholder.

According to Korea Zinc, about 80 of its client companies, including Hankook & Company, Husteel Co., and the Korea Gold Exchange, issued a “request for Korea Zinc to maintain the quality of its products,” expressing serious concerns over the potential disruption to the company’s product quality.

These companies receive key products from Korea Zinc, such as zinc, lead, precious metals, and sulfuric acid for semiconductors.

The company produces 650,000 tons of zinc annually, which is used for protective coatings on steel products for domestic and international industries, including automobile steel sheets, steel pipes, wire, and steel structures.

It also produces 450,000 tons of lead annually, which is widely used in the automotive battery and electrical cable industries both at home and abroad.

Korea Zinc also produces 2,000 tons of silver per year, which is used in the solar industry at home and abroad.