[E-Daily Reporter Park Jung-Soo ] SMEC CO.,LTD(099440), a company specializing in machine tools and automation solutions, announced on the 24th that it has filed an appeal with a higher court against a court decision granting SNT Holdings’ request for a preliminary injunction to inspect and copy its accounting records. SMEC CO.,LTD maintains that the appellate court must not only determine the scope of the accounting data to be disclosed but also review the circumstances surrounding SNT Holdings’ acquisition and holding of SMEC shares, as well as the legality of its exercise of shareholder rights based on those circumstances.
In particular, SMEC CO.,LTD has highlighted as key issues the process by which SNT Holdings reacquired its shares after a significant portion of the Smac shares held by SNT Holdings and SNT Group Chairman Choi Pyeong-gyu had been transferred to SNT MOTIV, as well as the circumstances surrounding the change to the share disposal plan originally disclosed. SMEC CO.,LTD argues that, considering the series of share transfers and the exercise of shareholder rights as a whole, the substantive purpose and legitimacy of the request to inspect the accounting records must be examined together.
Whether the disclosure of the purpose of acquiring and holding the shares was consistent with the intent of the Capital Markets Act is also expected to be a major point of contention in the appeal hearing. SMEC CO.,LTD believes it is necessary to examine whether there was a discrepancy between the actual investment purpose and the disclosed purpose of holding shares during SNT Holdings’ acquisition process, and whether the additional share acquisitions and the exercise of voting rights before and after the change in the purpose of holding shares complied with relevant regulations.
SMEC CO.,LTD also emphasized that a significant portion of the accounting-related allegations raised by SNT Holdings can be verified through financial statements and disclosures that have undergone external audits. The company maintains that, given the unresolved issues surrounding the legality of the share acquisition and the exercise of shareholder rights, the appellate court must re-evaluate whether it is appropriate to grant broad access to internal accounting records that may contain sensitive business information.
A company official stated, “This appeal is not merely about disputing the scope of access to accounting records; its purpose is to request that the court also examine the legality of SNT Holdings’ acquisition and holding of shares, as well as the entire process of its subsequent exercise of shareholder rights,” adding, “We plan to thoroughly present the relevant facts and legal issues during the appellate proceedings.”