Korea Zinc announced that it plans to make investments totaling KRW 1.5 trillion in Korea by 2029. As concerns have been raised in some quarters that the domestic business could be weakened by the construction of a smelter in the United States, the company appears to be moving to defuse controversy by highlighting its domestic investment plan.

Korea Zinc stated on the 18th that it will invest a total of KRW 1.5 trillion by 2029 in projects including the expansion of its Onsan smelter in Ulsan and the establishment of a new research and development (R&D) center in Songdo, Incheon. Specifically, it will invest KRW 140 billion in building a new germanium plant, KRW 55.7 billion in establishing a gallium recovery process, and KRW 30 billion in expanding its bismuth plant. It also plans to spend KRW 520 billion on constructing an all‑in‑one nickel smelter for secondary battery materials and KRW 150 billion on building the new Songdo R&D center. Through this investment, the company is expected to secure production capacity for germanium and gallium, essential materials for defense and semiconductors, thereby contributing to self‑reliance in the nation’s strategic minerals. The company presented a “two‑track strategy” of pursuing both the construction of the U.S. smelter and investments at home.

However, the major shareholder consortium of Young Poong and MBK Partners remains critical of the smelter investment through a joint venture (JV) with a U.S. partner. They argued, “Despite construction not starting until after 2027, insisting on paying in the capital increase within this year and structuring the JV so that it receives KRW 44.2 billion in dividends in just three days is a clear outflow of company funds.”

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