Starting with Samsung Electronics, the regular meeting of shareholders in the electronics industry will begin in earnest.
According to the industry on the 16th, Samsung Electronics will hold a shareholders’ meeting on the 17th and propose a total of four agendas. Approval of the 52nd financial statement including the ending dividend of 10.7 trillion won, which is a special dividend, and the re-appointment of outside directors Park Byeong-guk, Kim Jong-hoon and Kim Ki-nam, Kim Hyun-seok, and Ko Dong-jin, and outside director Kim Seon-wook who becomes a member of the Audit Committee. These include reappointment and approval of the compensation limit for directors.
However, ISS, the world’s largest voting advisory firm, advised clients to vote against the agenda of the general shareholders’ meeting regarding the reappointment of three outside directors of Samsung Electronics, including Seoul National University Professor Park Byeong-guk, Kim Jong-hoon, Chairman of Kisswe Mobile, and Kim Sun-wook, former head of the Legal Affairs Department.
It is reported that the ISS pointed out that the outside directors were appointed and active during the investigation and trial of the Gukjeong Nongdan case by Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, but failed to fulfill the role of checking and monitoring the management.
However, it is expected that the reappointment of outside directors will pass without difficulty as the National Pension Plan, the largest shareholder of Samsung Electronics holding more than 10% of the shares, decided the direction of voting rights by throwing a “yes” vote on the agenda contrary to the opinion of ISS.
At the shareholders’ meeting, Samsung Electronics is also paying attention to whether it will mention Lee Jae-yong’s vacancy or large-scale new investment. At a conference call in the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung Electronics announced that it will make a meaningful M&A (merger and acquisition) over the next three years.
LG Electronics is in the process of approving the division plan for the electric vehicle powertrain (power transmission system) related business of the VS business division at the shareholders’ meeting. In addition, it handles matters such as approval of financial statements, approval of amendments to the articles of incorporation, appointment of directors, appointment of directors to become members of the audit committee, and approval of the compensation limit for directors.
In the case of LG Electronics, it is noteworthy whether there will be a time to explain the direction of the MC (smartphone) division to shareholders. The direction of business restructuring in the MC division of LG Electronics is being discussed in the market by various methods such as reduction, withdrawal, and sale.
Kim Dong-won, a researcher at KB Securities, predicted, “The direction of LG Electronics’ MC business is expected to be finalized through the LG Electronics Shareholders’ Meeting held on March 24 or the LG Shareholders’ Meeting held on March 26.”
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On the other hand, the appointment of female outside directors is also counted as a key word at the shareholders’ meeting this year. For the first time in history, LG Electronics and Hyundai Motors are proposing an agenda to appoint a female candidate as an outside director. Samsung Electronics reappoints Kim Sun-wook, an emeritus professor at Ewha Womans University, as an outside director (audit committee).
Appointment of female non-executive directors complies with the Capital Market Act (applied from August next year), which prohibits the board of directors of listed corporations with assets of KRW 2 trillion or more from consist of only a specific gender, and maintains ESG, fair trade, and business-specific expertise within the board of directors. It is interpreted as a measure to expand the participation of female outside directors who are equipped with them.