The chairman of the board of Korea Zinc vowed on Wednesday to make way for an outsider after the firm dropped a plan to issue new shares worth $1.8 billion that had sparked an investigation by the financial watchdog and a share sell-off.

Korea Zinc Co. reported a drop in third-quarter operating profit on Tuesday but stopped short of providing investors with a much-anticipated update on its planned $1.8 billion share sale, already under investigation by the country’s financial watchdog.

Korea Zinc Co., the world's largest refined zinc smelter, said Wednesday it will hold a shareholders meeting over its management control, hours after scrapping its share sale plan taken issue with by the financial regulator.

Korea Zinc said on Wednesday it has decided to withdraw its plan to issue new shares worth $1.8 billion after the proposal sparked an investigation by the financial watchdog and a sell-off in the company's stock.