Around 2,020 firms held shareholders' meetings nationwide Thursday, with scandal-ridden companies claiming most of the limelight.

The meetings were for listed and unlisted firms whose 2001 business year ended on March 31.

At companies embroiled in scandals, the meetings began with top management making apologies. These included Snow Brand Milk Products Co., whose now-disbanded subsidiary Snow Brand Foods Co. was found to have deliberately mislabeled beef.