Kolmar Family's First Trial: Chairman Yoon Donghan's Side Requests Submission of Board Minutes and Audio Files on Daughter's Exclusion from Business

First Hearing in Stock Gift Return Lawsuit

Chairman Yoon Donghan (left), founder of Kolmar, and Vice Chairman Yoon Sanghyun

At the first hearing of the Kolmar family's "lawsuit for the return of gifted shares," the legal team representing Chairman Yoon Donghan, the founder, requested the submission of the minutes and audio recordings from the board meeting held on October 14, as well as documents related to the decision to exclude Yoon Yeowon, CEO of Kolmar BNH, from business operations. They also requested a court order for the submission of documents related to these discussions.

The Civil Agreement Division 29 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Ko Seungil) held the first hearing on the lawsuit filed by Chairman Yoon against his son, Vice Chairman Yoon Sanghyun, demanding the return of shares. Chairman Yoon’s legal team stated, "Vice Chairman Yoon clearly violated his obligation to implement and maintain Chairman Yoon’s succession plan," and formally requested the submission of the aforementioned materials to the court. They added, "Although we have not yet finalized specific witnesses, we are reviewing several potential witness applications."

In response, Vice Chairman Yoon Sanghyun’s team presented an opposing stance, leading to a heated exchange between the two sides.

Vice Chairman Yoon’s side argued, "This case began when, as CEO of the holding company Kolmar Holdings, we requested the appointment of a new director to revitalize Kolmar BNH, which had been underperforming for a long period. We suspect that the plaintiff may be using this lawsuit as part of a broader management rights dispute."

Chairman Yoon’s team countered, "It was the defendant who stripped management rights on the grounds of alleged problems. How can we proceed with a civil dispute without clarifying these issues?"

In 2019, Chairman Yoon donated 28.18% of his Kolmar Holdings shares to his son, daughter, and son-in-law. At that time, Vice Chairman Yoon, CEO Yoon, and Chairman Yoon agreed to operate independently of each other. However, Chairman Yoon claims that Vice Chairman Yoon broke this agreement. As a result, Chairman Yoon filed the "lawsuit for the return of gifted shares" to reclaim the shares he had given as part of his inheritance plan.

The court has scheduled the next hearing for December 11.