Coway Shareholders Approve Board Slate and Cumulative Voting, Reject Activist Proposals

Coway said shareholders approved all of the board's proposals as submitted at its 37th annual general meeting, held at the company's head office in Gongju, South Korea.

Inside directors Junhyuk Bang, Jangwon Seo and Kim Soon-tae were re-elected, Jeon Si-mun was elected as a new outside director, and Sunwoo Hye-jeong and Jeong Hee-seon were elected as outside directors serving on the audit committee. Shareholders also approved amendments to the articles of incorporation introducing cumulative voting and electronic shareholder meetings and giving the company flexibility in setting record dates for quarterly dividends. Shareholder proposals to form an audit committee made up entirely of outside directors and to appoint an outside director as board chair were rejected.

The meeting followed a campaign by activist investor Align Partners, which submitted shareholder proposals. In a February response, Coway said its board is 67 percent independent, that it plans to create a related party transaction committee and a lead independent director role, and that it targets a 40 percent total shareholder return ratio through 2027. "Coway will continue to communicate with shareholders and strive to enhance corporate value and achieve sustainable growth," Seo said, according to a translation.