Sovereign Asset Management ("Sovereign") today turned to Korea's High Court, to establish the rights of shareholders in SK Corp to hold an EGM.
Sovereign is confident that the appeal court will wish to overturn the potentially damaging precedents set by Seoul's District Court last month. Not only did December's judgement prevent shareholders from exercising their duty to ensure the best possible management of a company, it suggested that the rights of a corporate entity are less enforceable than those of a "natural person".
James Fitter, CEO of Sovereign Asset Management, said:
"Sovereign has satisfied all the legal requirements necessary for a shareholder to call for an EGM. It is important that we ensure that the basic principles of shareholder rights are upheld. We look forward to the High Court's reassessment of these rights."
About the Appeal
Under Korean law, the right of a shareholder to requisition an EGM requires the shareholder to own more than 1.5% of the company's shares, and hold those shares for more than six months. As SK Corp's largest single shareholder, Sovereign, through its subsidiaries, has held 14.9% of the company for some 18 months.
The Board of SK Corp had earlier refused Sovereign's request of 25th October to hold an EGM to vote on new Articles of Incorporation that would enshrine the principle that persons indicted for serious crimes should be suspended and that persons convicted of serious crimes should be barred from acting as a director. SK Corp's denial of this request prompted Sovereign to bring the issue before the Korean courts.
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