Young Poong and MBK Partners criticized Korea Zinc’s push to build a smelter in the United States, saying on Monday that the plan runs counter to commercial logic and is designed to defend company Chairman Choi Yun-beom’s management control. They issued the objections after reports that the world’s largest zinc smelter plans to construct a strategic minerals smelter worth 10 trillion won ($6.8 billion) in the southeastern United States, with the U.S. government and corporations expected to contribute around 2 trillion won. The facility is slated to serve as a U.S.-based production hub for key strategic minerals, including antimony and germanium, which Korea Zinc currently manufactures domestically. The Young Poong-MBK alliance is the largest shareholder of Korea Zinc and has been challenging Choi’s managerial control since launching a tender offer on Sept. 13, 2024. “Media reports revealed that Korea Zinc’s management convened an emergency board meeting to deliberate on a third-party allotment capital increase for the construction of a U.S. smelter,” a Young Poong official