Yeon Man-hee, former chairman of Yuhan Corporation and chairman of the Yuhan Foundation, who inherited the spirit of the late Dr. Yu Il-han, the founder of Yuhan Corporation, and established a professional management system in the company, passed away on the 16th at the age of 94.
Born in 1930 in Yeonbaek, Hwanghae Province, former Chairman Yeon served in the Korean War while studying economics at Korea University and was commissioned as a reserve officer at the Daegu Defense Officer School. In recognition of his military service, he was awarded the Hwarang Military Merit Medal in 1953. After graduating from university, he joined Yuhan Corporation as an accounting department employee in 1961 and dedicated 60 years to the company until his retirement in 2021.
Dr. Yu Il-han, who listed Yuhan Corporation on the stock market in 1962 as the first pharmaceutical company to do so, reportedly entrusted the stock market listing tasks to then-newcomer Yeon Man-hee.
Following Dr. Yu Il-han, Yeon became chairman in 1993 and is credited with establishing a professional management system at Yuhan Corporation by adhering to the company’s management philosophy of excluding relatives from management. He limited the president’s term to six years with only one reappointment allowed.
He also took the lead in social contributions, donating the Creative Development Fund and scholarships to his alma mater, Korea University, starting in 1994, and donated Yuhan Corporation stocks worth several hundred million won to the university.
Survived by his wife Shim Mun-ja, children Yeon Tae-kyung (former Hyundai Motor PR executive), Tae-jun (vice president of Homeplus), and Tae-ok, son-in-law Lee Sang-hwan (emeritus professor at Hanyang University), and daughters-in-law Moon Sun-mi and Choi Nan-hee. The funeral is being held at Samsung Seoul Hospital Funeral Hall, Room 17. The funeral procession will take place on the 19th at 8 a.m., with burial at Donghwa Memorial Park.
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