A South Korean court has ordered Korea Zinc to submit its advisory contract with Conduit, the operator of minority shareholder platform Act, along with records of funds the company paid to the firm. Korea Zinc's largest shareholder, Young Poong and MBK Partners, is focusing on the possibility that Conduit's role went beyond ordinary advisory work and contributed to the formation of management defense measures.
According to legal sources and Young Poong and MBK on Monday, the 29th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court last week ordered Korea Zinc to submit all documents, including the advisory contract signed with Conduit, the operator of the Act platform. The court demanded materials that can verify the content and scope of work performed by Conduit — including emails, proposals, progress reports, meeting minutes and opinion papers — as well as records of funds Korea Zinc paid to Conduit, Young Poong and MBK said.
The document submission order was issued in the course of a lawsuit filed by Young Poong and MBK to nullify resolutions adopted at Korea Zinc's 2025 annual general meeting. Young Poong and MBK contend that at the meeting, Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-birm unlawfully had Korea Zinc's Australian affiliates SMH and SMC acquire more than 10 percent of Young Poong shares and used this as grounds to restrict the voting rights of Young Poong, the largest shareholder of Korea Zinc.
Young Poong and MBK view Conduit as more than a mere external advisor. According to Young Poong and MBK, internal Conduit documents disclosed last year contained content related to restricting Young Poong's voting rights and Korea Zinc's management defense strategy. "The key to this ruling is to objectively verify the extent to which Conduit was involved in the circular equity investment structure and the formation of the cross-shareholding appearance that led to the restriction of Young Poong's voting rights, and whether that process fell within the scope of legitimate management defense measures," a Young Poong and MBK official said.
