Align Partners Capital Management has raised the issue of overseas shareholders not being able to properly use a cumulative voting system ahead of JB Financial Group’s general shareholders meeting scheduled for March 28.
“We have confirmed a number of cases where overseas shareholders have been unable to execute cumulative voting about JB Financial Group through their permanent proxies and the Korea Securities Depository,” Align Partners claimed in a press release on March 22.
“We have requested in writing that JB Financial Group take specific measures to ensure that overseas shareholders can exercise their voting rights,” an Align Partners representative said. “But JB Financial Group has not provided a solution and has maintained its position that there is no problem if overseas institutional shareholders attend the general shareholders meeting in person, vote electronically, or appoint proxies in writing.”
“However, with less than four business days remaining before the general shareholders meeting, it is virtually impossible for overseas institutional shareholders to attend the meeting in person or to obtain their original written proxy statements and other documents and send them to Korea,” an Align Partners representative said. “There is no way for overseas shareholders to authenticate themselves through e-proxy and e-voting systems in Korea, so e-voting or e-proxies are not a viable option.”
“We regret that even the basic voting rights of overseas shareholders are not properly guaranteed and JB Financial Group is unable to resolve the issue of the Korea discount in an environment where it is impossible for overseas shareholders to exercise their voting rights exactly according to their will,” he said.
To resolve this issue, Align Partners urged JB Financial Group to propose realistic measures to ensure the voting rights of overseas shareholders such as recognizing an alternative cumulative voting method for overseas shareholders at KT&G’s general shareholders meeting in 2023.
“If the problems related to overseas shareholders’ cumulative voting are not corrected, we will consider all legal measures to correct obstacles to the exercise of shareholders’ rights,” Align Partners said.