Hanmi Pharmaceutical Likely to Continue 'Independent Management' Path
Hanmi Pharmaceutical's board of directors rejected the proposal to appoint Director Lim Jong-yoon as CEO. As a result, Park Jae-hyun will continue to serve as CEO, as before.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical held a board meeting on the morning of the 2nd at its headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where this decision was made. The meeting, convened at the suggestion of Director Lim, was attended by all 10 directors, including Director Lim and CEO Park. However, some directors, including Shin Dong-guk, chairman of Hanyang Precision, reportedly participated remotely via teleconference.
With CEO Park maintaining his position, the earlier move toward "independent management of Hanmi Pharmaceutical" is expected to gain momentum. On the 28th of last month, he established the HR and Legal teams at Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and on the 29th, he announced plans to pursue "independent management unique to Hanmi Pharmaceutical, not as a subsidiary of Hanmi Science."
Meanwhile, the outcome of this board meeting was considered predictable. This is because the majority of the board members stand on the opposite side of Director Lim, aligned with Song Young-sook, chairwoman of the Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group. Among the 10 directors, six?including CEO Park?were appointed during the period when Chairwoman Song served as CEO of the holding company Hanmi Science.
Earlier this year, the Lim brothers, Jong-yoon and Jong-hoon, after winning the group management dispute, appointed four new directors to Hanmi Pharmaceutical, including themselves. However, among those newly appointed directors, Chairman Shin Dong-guk is currently forming a "three-party alliance" with Chairwoman Song. As a result, the current board composition of Hanmi Pharmaceutical is analyzed to be roughly 7 to 3, with the three-party alliance holding the majority.
However, it is uncertain whether this current structure will continue. Lim Jong-hoon, CEO of Hanmi Science, the holding company that owns 41.42% of Hanmi Pharmaceutical's shares, previously stated that "holding an extraordinary shareholders' meeting of Hanmi Pharmaceutical to replace the board and management cannot be ruled out."
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