Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.
MBK-Young Poong alliance slams Korea Zinc's criminal complaint over US project name
Korea Zinc logo in the company's headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Korea Zinc
By Park Han-sol
Korea Zinc on Wednesday filed a criminal complaint against its largest shareholders, MBK Partners and Young Poong, over the alleged unauthorized use of the name of “Project Crucible,” the integrated smelter project the company is pursuing in partnership with the U.S. government.
MBK and Young Poong immediately pushed back, accusing Korea Zinc of undermining legitimate shareholder activities and calling the complaint a “serious infringement” of shareholder rights.
The project, which involves a planned $7.4 billion investment in Tennessee, aims to begin trial operations in 2029 to produce critical minerals and semiconductor-grade sulfuric acid.
The complaint marks another escalation in the protracted ownership battle between Korea Zinc and the MBK-Young Poong alliance. Korea Zinc alleges that the alliance registered a domain name combining the project name with the state of Tennessee on June 27 and distributed invitations in early July for a reception attended by Tennessee government officials that featured the Project Crucible name.
The company claims those actions created the impression that domain and reception were official company initiatives. It also accused the alliance of interfering with its business by promoting MBK’s global investment portfolio at the event and suggesting that technology from Young Poong’s Seokpo smelter could be applied to Project Crucible.
The smelter said it filed the complaint with the Jongno Police Station, citing alleged violations of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and business interference.
MBK Partners and Young Poong countered that Korea Zinc was infringing on shareholder rights by using company resources to challenge what they described as legitimate efforts by the largest shareholder to enhance corporate value.
“Using company funds and the company’s name to attack shareholders who are carrying out normal shareholder activities aimed at improving corporate value is a typical example of outdated management behavior that treats the company as personal property,” the alliance said in a statement. “Mobilizing legal measures to discourage the largest shareholder’s activities runs directly counter to shareholder democracy and sound corporate governance.”
The alliance also rejected Korea Zinc’s claims over the project name, arguing that the complaint was unfounded.
“Project Crucible is not a registered trademark over which Korea Zinc holds exclusive rights. The project name and its details were also publicly disclosed by Korea Zinc itself,” it said.
It added that MBK and Young Poong had clearly identified themselves as the organizers of the reception and merely communicated with the U.S. government, local community and investors in their capacity as Korea Zinc’s largest shareholder.
“Claiming that this amounts to impersonating the project or infringing on business identifiers distorts both the facts and the legal principles,” the alliance said.