Market Metropolis

Doesn't my son live here? My son lives nearby and comes every day, but he didn't come today. I may come back later to get some side dishes. But where did my son invest?

I straighten my clothes before ringing the bell. Check the visitor's card around your neck and the visit packet, which contains a description of the company. “Ding Dong”. No answer, but I ring again, sounds familiar. “Ding Dong”. Only after that you hear a rustling sound from inside. The name of the confirmed shareholder on the list was a man in his 40s, but there was an old woman with gray hair. It was Juju's mother.

On the afternoon of the 14th, with Choi Beom-hwi (41), head of Locomotive, a voting rights delegation agency, in Uijongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do. JB Financial Group (175330), Estec Pharma (041910) I personally worked on collecting voting rights for minority shareholders. Although I expected, the work was still not easy. Since the list of shareholders had no contact information, only addresses, I had to visit their homes one by one. In addition, although the district was designated as Uijonbu City, the distance between sharecroppers' residences was long, and in the case of apartments, the security of common access was often blocked.

Of the five households visited for about three hours that day, two were absent. In one place, the shareholders had already moved, and in the other two places there were people, but no shareholders. In the end, I only managed to make a phone call to my son Juju through my mother at one place. The shareholder said he would not be going to his mother's house today and decided to fill out an electronic proxy form to delegate the right to vote on his behalf.

Director Choi said. “If you go to a mall or an apartment where people over 60 live before 6 p.m., and if you go to an apartment where relatively young people live after hours, you're more likely to meet them.” The number of cases has increased, and more than anything, after COVID-19, there has been an increase in cases where people pretend they are not there and do not open the door even if they are at home,” he said.

He said. “The companies that have applied for delegated voting rights are either controversial or do not have a quorum,” adding. “These companies often have low stock prices, and as a result, they often get angry even when they're struggling. during the meeting of shareholders. In the past, for this reason, gift attacks were carried out to shareholders who delegated their rights, but these days times have changed. Rather, it is important to listen carefully to the story,” he emphasized. Director Choi then added: “There are many rumors that so-called 'cowardly people' are making threats, but this is not true.”

The domestic market of suffrage delegation was formed in the early 2000s, but at that time there were only about 10 companies. Then, with the elimination of shadow voting (proxy voting) at the end of 2017, the related market began to grow. Shadow voting is a system in which the votes of absent shareholders are deemed to have been cast according to the pro/con ratio expressed at the general meeting of shareholders to prevent a quorum being achieved. With the abolition of this system, it became necessary to actually collect the votes of the shareholders.

In addition, the number of minority shareholders increased rapidly due to the so-called “Dongle ant” movement in 2020 and 2021, and as the competition for votes between management and activist funds increased in recent general meetings of shareholders, both offensive (activist) and defensive (friendly). the parties have appointed professional companies, which have had more cases. Just a few years ago, there were cases of company managers and employees working “overtime” to get tickets after work without using an agency, but this has completely disappeared due to the introduction of the 52-hour system. Accordingly, the number of suffrage delegation agencies has increased significantly to about 50.

The voting rights delegation market is expected to increase in the future. This is because the government is implementing several policies this year, including the Value Up program, to address the Korea Discount (the undervaluation of the Korean stock market). The social climate is such that demands for shareholder returns are accepted as legitimate demands of minority shareholders, and as minority shareholder mobilization platforms increase, collective action should increase.

The leading proxy proxy company is Lokomotiv, founded in 2005. There are 60 bases across the country, and about 500 people move in during AGM season. last year SK Securities (001510)Including Gyeongdong City Gas (267290), Hansol Home Deco (025750) 5 KOSPI listed companies including GemVax Link (064800), OSCOTECH (039200) He managed to get other voting orders from a total of eight companies, including three listed on KOSDAQ. In addition, well-known companies include Beside Korea, Teams and Lee & J Marked Asia.

Although the specific questions may vary from company to company, the proxy voting process is usually as follows: When a listed company makes an inquiry, the agency analyzes the list of shareholders and sets a strategy, including timelines and quotes. After signing the contract, the company determines the status of the shareholders and the number of shares through the list of shareholders and sends the shareholder notice and power of attorney. Then the person personally purchases the name and address of the shareholders' register and receives voting rights.

Voting agencies sometimes hire part-time workers when they are short on staff. Part-time employees receive a per diem and per-occupancy fee, as well as a success fee. It is known that women are more competitive because they have to allow strangers to visit. They say there are a lot of people who worked as insurance planners, credit card collectors, etc. and came here because of the recession. Jobs in the insurance and credit card collection markets are shrinking due to fintech.

Mr Lee (49), who participated in a part-time delegation of voting rights, said: “Basically, I get a daily salary of 120,000 to 150,000 won a day, and the more delegates I get, the more I get an incentive of 300,000 to 400,000 won.” He added: “Especially for those who have a lot of stocks. “If I get a delegation from a shareholder, I can get more fees, so I visit two or three times.”

“Lokomotiv” deputy general manager Kim Sang-gu (41) says. “Usually we get calls from listed companies that need voting rights at the end of January, before the general shareholders. in March, but this season, perhaps because they feel a sense of crisis over the rejection of the agenda, they were contacted in early November. “More companies are coming from now on,” he explained.