Yoon Yeowon Refutes "Distortion of Facts Over Poor Performance"... Kolmar Family Feud Escalates

Yoon Yeowon, CEO of Kolmar BNH, Issues Statement on July 7
To the Holding Company: "Serious Distortion of the Facts"
"Kolmar Holdings Has Restricted Plans to Secure Future Growth Engines"

On July 7, Yoon Yeowon, CEO of Kolmar BNH, refuted Kolmar Holdings' claims of management failure amid an ongoing management rights dispute, stating, "Demanding my resignation on the grounds of poor performance is a serious distortion of the facts."

In a statement released the same day, CEO Yoon said, "Despite the overall stagnation in the health functional food market following COVID-19, Kolmar BNH has continued to achieve steady sales growth, and in 2024, we recorded our highest-ever consolidated sales of 615.6 billion KRW."

Previously, on July 1, Kolmar Holdings, the holding company of Kolmar Group, issued a press release criticizing Kolmar BNH for "losing its original role within the group due to years of poor performance and a lack of future strategy." The company attributed this to "the unilateral decision-making and lack of future vision by CEO Yoon Yeowon." In particular, it pointed out that Kolmar Saenghwal Geongang, an in-house brand established by CEO Yoon in June 2020, has accumulated losses exceeding 10 billion KRW, and that the push for the in-house brand business was the main cause of the company's deteriorating performance.

In response, Kolmar BNH, led by CEO Yoon, issued a statement directly rebutting these claims.

Kolmar BNH stated, "The management of Kolmar BNH has never been completely independent; it has always operated under the supervision of Kolmar Holdings. Over the years, Kolmar Holdings has been deeply involved in major business strategies and decision-making through regular face-to-face reports, and most proposals for new businesses and investment plans aimed at securing future growth engines have been rejected at the holding company level."

Kolmar BNH also clarified that 'Kolmar Saenghwal Geongang,' cited by Kolmar Holdings as an example of management failure under CEO Yoon, was a business launched with the approval of Chairman Yoon Donghan and Vice Chairman Yoon Sanghyun, and was initiated after prior coordination within the group.

Kolmar BNH argued, "For B2B ODM (Original Development Manufacturing) companies, acquiring B2C business know-how is essential to understand market and customer trends, and this is why most ODM companies operate B2C businesses even if it means incurring losses. To judge this solely as a business failure is a shortsighted perspective."

The company further explained that, over the past several years, it has focused on fundamental improvements by innovating its raw material portfolio, strengthening its research and development (R&D) infrastructure, and enhancing overall efficiency in production, sales, and supply chain management (SCM). As a result, in April, the company achieved an operating profit of 3.6 billion KRW, reaching the total profit for the first quarter in just one month, signaling a full-fledged recovery in profitability from the second quarter. The company also reported that operating profit in May reached 3.6 billion KRW, representing an increase of more than 40% compared to the same period last year.

CEO Yoon stated, "I sincerely apologize to our shareholders and the public for the concern caused by the management rights dispute at Kolmar BNH." He continued, "Despite numerous external constraints and challenges, I will once again reflect deeply on the founder's long-standing management philosophy of 'Ubocheonri' (moving forward steadily like an ox), and will continue to advance unwaveringly for the sustained growth and management stability of Kolmar BNH." He added, "I will keep my promises to shareholders without the slightest deviation until the very end."