Yuhan Corporation Establishes 'Chairman Position' as a Future-Oriented Measure for Global Leap

Drawing the Line by Issuing an Official Statement Amid Ongoing 'Company Privatization Controversy'

Yuhan Corporation, which plans to establish the positions of Chairman and Vice Chairman at the shareholders' meeting next month, has officially responded to the suspicions surrounding this move.

Yuhan Corporation Headquarters Building
Photo by Yuhan Corporation

According to Yuhan Corporation on the 22nd, the regular shareholders' meeting scheduled for the 15th of next month will discuss partial amendments to the articles of incorporation, including the establishment of the Chairman and Vice Chairman positions.

However, within the company, there are suspicions that this amendment is intended for a specific individual to assume the Chairman position and privatize the company, which has become a company without a clear owner. In the nearly 100-year history of Yuhan Corporation, only two people have held the Chairman position: the founder, Yu Ilhan, and Advisor Yeon Manhee. Since Advisor Yeon stepped down as Chairman in 1993, no Chairman has been appointed.

In response, the company explained, "The establishment of these positions is a proactive measure to introduce flexible ranks in order to advance toward becoming a global top 50 pharmaceutical company." As the company grows, the number of top executives such as Presidents and Vice Presidents has already increased, and with further growth expected, the adjustment of executive ranks is simply a structural change. There is no possibility of appointing a specific individual as Chairman, as some have suggested.

Currently, Yuhan Corporation's executive team consists of two Presidents (CEO Jo Wookje and Kim Yeolhong, President of R&D) and six Vice Presidents (Byungman Lee, Head of Management Division; Youngrae Lee, Head of Production Division; Sewoong Oh, Director of Central Research Institute; Hyoyoung Lim, Head of Clinical Medicine Division; Jaecheon Yoo, Head of Pharmaceutical Business Division; and Youngmi Lee, Head of R&BD Division).

Yuhan Corporation specifically cited ▲flexible organizational structure suitable for the company size ▲recruitment of external talent ▲modifications to align with the standard articles of incorporation as reasons. Therefore, they emphasized, "The purpose of this amendment to the articles of incorporation is to update various provisions such as adding business objectives and changing announcement methods to reflect current realities, and the establishment of these positions is also a forward-looking measure."