[Alpha Biz= Kim Young Taek] SEOUL, South Korea — ACT (operated by Conduit), a platform claiming to represent the interests of minority shareholders, is facing intense backlash following the leak of internal documents revealing secretive consulting agreements with companies involved in high-stakes management feuds, specifically Korea Zinc and Hanmi Science (Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group).

Allegations of Profit-Seeking Amidst Corporate Battles
According to internal records leaked on January 21, ACT reportedly received significant financial compensation for providing PR and strategic advisory services to companies embroiled in control battles. This follows previous legal complaints filed in September 2025 by Young Poong and MBK Partners against Korea Zinc’s leadership and ACT CEO Sang-mok Lee.

 

 

The leaked documents suggest that during the hostile takeover attempt between Korea Zinc and Young Poong, ACT actively sided with management, planning to use its influence to create "manufactured" shareholder alliances.

Key Revelations from Internal Documents
The proposal ACT submitted to Korea Zinc reportedly included a detailed plan for a 1 billion KRW (approx. $750,000) advisory fee, covering:

Targeted Attacks: Utilizing Young Poong’s low Price-to-Book Ratio (PBR) to discredit their management.

Policy Exploitation: Leveraging the South Korean government’s "Corporate Value-up Program" to stir public sentiment in favor of current management.

Orchestrated Activism: Plans to "execute strategies as if minority shareholders voluntarily formed an alliance," suggesting the public narrative was artificially constructed.

Expanding Scope to Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group
The investigation also revealed that ACT was involved in the management dispute at Hanmi Science, the holding company of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group. Experts argue that these actions treat minority shareholders as "revenue-generating tools" rather than partners in corporate governance, raising serious ethical and legal concerns regarding market transparency.

Response from ACT
ACT CEO Sang-mok Lee addressed the allegations via Alpha Biz, stating, "Regarding the timing of the consulting contract, we officially disclosed our relationship with Korea Zinc through regulatory filings related to the solicitation of voting proxies."

 

 

 

[ⓒ 알파경제. 무단전재-재배포 금지]