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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] The world's largest sovereign wealth fund, Norway's Government Pension Fund, has expressed opposition to the introduction of a cumulative voting system at Korea Zinc.
On Sunday, MBK Partners and Young Poong Corporation announced that Norway's wealth fund had voted against the proposed amendment to Korea Zinc's articles of association, which seeks to adopt cumulative voting, at the upcoming extraordinary shareholders' meeting scheduled for January 23.
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages Norway's Government Pension Fund, disclosed its voting decisions on the agenda items for Korea Zinc's extraordinary shareholders' meeting on its website the previous afternoon.
NBIM opposed not only the adoption of cumulative voting but also Korea Zinc's proposal to limit the number of directors to 19. It voted in favor of all 14 director candidates recommended by MBK Partners and Young Poong, while rejecting all candidates recommended by Korea Zinc's current board.
Regarding cumulative voting, NBIM explained its opposition by stating, "A robust nomination and election process is required to ensure an effective board that is accountable to shareholders." Additionally, it cited concerns over "unsatisfactory financial and strategic performance, poor risk management, unacceptable treatment of shareholders, and undesirable environmental or social outcomes from the company's operations" as reasons for opposing all of Korea Zinc's board nominees.
NBIM emphasized, "Shareholders should have the right to demand changes to the board if it fails to act in their best interests," adding that they evaluate whether "the board has taken appropriate actions in response to shareholder requests, avoided shareholder proposals, or restricted shareholder rights without approval."
MBK Partners and Young Poong stated, "Although NBIM generally follows guidelines that support cumulative voting and limits on the number of directors, in this case, it seems they believe the current board's breach of fiduciary duty to shareholders outweighs those principles."
Previously, the largest public pension funds in the U.S., the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), also voted against the adoption of cumulative voting at Korea Zinc.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
