[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] MBK Partners and Young Poong have raised concerns over possible self-dealing involving Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yoon-beom, claiming that company funds were repeatedly invested following his personal investments.

Korea Zinc denied the allegations, calling them false and stating that it would pursue both civil and criminal legal action against the spread of misinformation.

In a statement released on March 17, MBK said, “A structure in which company funds are invested after personal investments is a typical conflict-of-interest arrangement,” adding that “it raises strong concerns about potential self-dealing, as it could directly lead to an increase in the value of personal investments.”

Earlier, a local media report said that Chairman Choi invested approximately 32 billion won in four entertainment companies between 2019 and 2021 through a personal investment vehicle. Subsequently, One Asia Partners, a private equity firm in which Korea Zinc participated as a key investor, reportedly invested about 80 billion won of company funds into the same companies.

MBK argued that such capital flows were not isolated cases.

“The issue is that this was not a one-off incident,” MBK said. “In the past Cheongho Comnet case, disclosures showed that after Chairman Choi invested through a personal investment vehicle, about 20 billion won of Korea Zinc funds flowed into Cheongho Comnet during the process of selling its subsidiary.”

MBK added that Chairman Choi later realized gains of nearly 1 billion won by selling his stake as Cheongho Comnet’s share price rose.

“As a result, personal investment gains were realized in the process where company funds were injected,” MBK said.

The firm emphasized that when combining approximately 80 billion won invested in entertainment companies and around 20 billion won related to Cheongho Comnet, more than 100 billion won of Korea Zinc funds were used in a structure directly linked to Chairman Choi’s personal investments.

 

 

 

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