South Korea’s leading firms plan to hold their annual general shareholders’ meetings on the same day, official data showed Sunday, raising criticism that they are trying to make it hard for small-time investors to exercise their legitimate voting rights to check the power of management.

According to the Korea Securities Depository, 133 listed companies whose fiscal year ended in December will hold their general shareholders meeting this week, with 116 set to convene the gatherings on Friday.

The KSD said South Korea’s top companies such as Samsung Electronics Co., Hyundai Motor Co., POSCO, LG Electronics, LG Uplus Corp., and Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. are to hold their shareholders meeting on the last working day of the week. (Yonhap)