Hanmi Im Jong-yoon Brothers "Application for Injunction to Prohibit Voting Rights of Gahyeon Culture and Im Seong-gi Foundation"

Jong-yoon Lim (left) and Jong-hoon Lim, presidents of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, are holding a press conference at the FKI Tower in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the 21st. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The eldest and second sons of the late Im Seong-gi, founder of Hanmi Pharm, brothers Im Jong-yoon and Jong-hoon, filed an injunction on the 27th to prohibit the exercise of voting rights by the Gahyeon Cultural Foundation and the Im Seong-gi Foundation ahead of the Hanmi Science shareholders' meeting vote.

The brothers' side announced on the same day that they had filed an injunction on the 26th to prohibit the exercise of voting rights regarding the agenda of the Hanmi Science regular shareholders' meeting by the public interest corporations Gahyeon Cultural Foundation and Im Seong-gi Foundation.

The Gahyeon Cultural Foundation and the Im Seong-gi Foundation each hold 4.9% and 3.0% of Hanmi Science shares, respectively.

Hanmi Group Chairwoman Song Young-sook and Vice Chairman Im Joo-hyun are understood to have secured approximately 43% of friendly shares at the Hanmi Science shareholders' meeting held on the 28th, combining their own and immediate family members' shares, the shares of the two foundations, about 0.33% of Hanmi Sa-woohoe's shares, and 7.66% of the National Pension Service's shares.

The brothers Im Jong-yoon and Jong-hoon argued that voting rights should be exercised in a way that aligns with the public interest, not for the private benefit of specific individuals.

The brothers stated, "A significant portion of Hanmi Science shares held by the foundations were jointly contributed by the heirs from the inherited property with the hope that they would be used for the public good in accordance with the late Chairman Im Seong-gi's wishes. The exercise of voting rights by the two foundations should be prohibited not only at this Hanmi Science regular shareholders' meeting but also at all Hanmi Science shareholders' meetings held this year."

In this regard, Shin Dong-guk, chairman of Hanyang Precision, who recently expressed support for the brothers, also expressed a negative stance on the foundations being utilized based on decisions made by some major shareholders, according to the brothers' side.

Hanmi's side rebutted this. In their rebuttal, Hanmi stated, "The claim that the voting rights of the Gahyeon Cultural Foundation and the Im Seong-gi Foundation are used like a personal company by some major shareholders insults the members of each foundation's board of directors. We understand that the two foundations have lawfully handled the relevant agenda according to principles and procedures, and we urge the cessation of activities that confuse individual shareholders' judgment just one day before the shareholders' meeting."