Hanmi Science and Hanmi Pharm Executives Face Consecutive Charges of "Breach of Trust and Other Illegal Activities"

Hanmi Science, the holding company of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, has filed a complaint against the management of its affiliate Hanmi Pharmaceutical on charges of breach of trust and embezzlement.

Following last week's successive complaints filed by the brothers Lim Jong-yoon, an inside director of Hanmi Science, and Lim Jong-hoon, CEO, against the '3-person alliance' including their mother Song Young-sook, Chairwoman of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, the ongoing complaints have escalated the management dispute.

On the 18th, Hanmi Science announced that it filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against a total of five individuals, including CEO Park and four Hanmi Pharmaceutical executives, as well as Kim Nam-gyu, CEO of the private equity firm La D?fense Partners, for violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust and embezzlement) and the Capital Markets Act.

The main allegations include the outflow of company funds through transactions, obtaining unfair profits using undisclosed information, and outflow of funds through unnecessary lease contracts.

Earlier that day, La D?fense announced that it had acquired a 3.7% stake in Hanmi Science and would participate in the company's management through a management participation fund.

This follows Chairwoman Song Young-sook and Vice Chairman Lim Joo-hyun selling 1.17% and 0.54% of Hanmi Science shares respectively to Killington LLC, a special purpose company (SPC) established by La D?fense. The Gahyeon Cultural Foundation will also sell its 1.94% stake to Killington.

Hanmi Science stated regarding the complaint, "It is related to illegal outflow of corporate funds, personal gain by the CEO, and breach of trust in collusion with external forces," and added, "A thorough internal audit and legal review were conducted before filing the complaint."

In response, Hanmi Pharmaceutical criticized Hanmi Science, saying, "They are indiscriminately filing complaints against Hanmi Pharmaceutical's management by abusing management authority with the intent to eliminate political opponents." They also stated, "According to Hanmi Science's board bylaws, important company lawsuits must go through board resolutions."

Previously, on the 15th, Hanmi Science filed a criminal complaint against Chairwoman Song, Vice Chairman Lim, the individual largest shareholder Shin Dong-guk, Chairman of Hanyang Precision, and representatives of companies delegated to solicit voting rights from them, on charges of obstruction of business and abuse of power.

On the 13th, Han Seong-jun, CEO of Kori Group, the largest shareholder where Lim Jong-yoon is a director, filed a complaint against Chairwoman Song and CEO Park for breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

Currently, Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group is divided between the Lim brothers, Lim Jong-yoon, inside director of Hanmi Science, and CEO Lim Jong-hoon, who hold management rights of the holding company, and the 3-person alliance advocating for the introduction of a professional management system and demanding reorganization of the holding company's board, clashing over the overall management control of the group.

The 3-person alliance and the Lim brothers will compete in a vote over the board size at the Hanmi Science extraordinary general meeting scheduled for the 28th. On the 19th of next month, an extraordinary general meeting of Hanmi Pharmaceutical will be held to address the agenda including the dismissal of CEO Park Jae-hyun.