Dong-A Socio Holdings "First Step as a 100-Year Company... Will Expand New R&D"

"Promoting Organic Growth of the Group"

Dong-A Socio Holdings has expressed its ambition to become a centennial company by expanding its new research and development (R&D) pipeline.

Dong-A Socio Holdings announced this on the morning of the 29th, holding the 75th regular shareholders' meeting at the auditorium of its headquarters located in Yongdu-dong, Dongdaemun-gu.

Dong-A Socio Holdings held the 75th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on the morning of the 29th at the auditorium of its headquarters in Yongdu-dong, Dongdaemun-gu. The shareholders' meeting is taking place this morning.
[Photo by Dong-A Socio Holdings]

Previously, the Dong-A Socio Group celebrated its 90th anniversary last year. Dong-A Socio Holdings emphasized that the shareholders' meeting marked the first step toward becoming a 100-year company. At the meeting, three agenda items were presented: approval of the 75th fiscal year financial statements and consolidated financial statements, election of directors, and approval of the director remuneration limit, all of which were passed as originally proposed.

Dong-A Socio Holdings achieved sales of 1.0148 trillion KRW on a consolidated basis last year, a 15.1% increase compared to the previous year. Major subsidiaries Dong-A Pharmaceutical and Yongma Logistics drove this growth. The company’s sales surpassing 1 trillion KRW is the first since its transition to a holding company in 2013. Operating profit was reported at 37.8 billion KRW, and net profit at 7.8 billion KRW.

At this shareholders' meeting, Cho Min-woo, Head of Management Planning at Dong-A Socio Holdings, was appointed as a new inside director. The company explained that Cho, having served as the head of the management planning team, is regarded as a management expert who contributed to the continuous growth of Dong-A Socio Holdings based on his understanding of the group’s business.

Last year, the key affiliate Dong-A ST secured management rights of Neurobo, a Nasdaq-listed company. Another affiliate, ST Pharm’s AIDS treatment drug, advanced to Phase 2a clinical trials based on positive results from Phase 1.

Jung Jae-hoon, Vice President and CEO, stated, "We plan to create new value by expanding our new R&D pipeline through innovative directional shifts and aggressive open innovation. We will also continue to strengthen our social responsibility management system and emphasize human rights management to build a company where all stakeholders can be happy together."

He added, "The Dong-A Socio Group marked its 90th anniversary last year and prepared a blueprint toward becoming a 100-year company. The year 2023 is the first year of taking that step forward," emphasizing, "We ask our shareholders to continue watching over the process of moving toward a centennial company and to offer their strong support."