"Invossa Incident" Kolon Honorary Chairman Lee Woongyeol Acquittal Finalized...Prosecution Drops Supreme Court Appeal

Prosecution: "Considering Evidentiary Relationships and Likelihood of Appeal Being Accepted"

Prosecutors have decided not to file an appeal to the Supreme Court against Kolon Honorary Chairman Lee Woongyeol, who was acquitted in the second trial in connection with the "Invossa incident."

Lee Woongyeol, former chairman of Kolon Group, who was indicted on charges including involvement in allegations of manipulating the composition of Invossa KJ (Invossa), attended the first hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 9th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

On the 11th, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office announced, "Taking into account the evidentiary relationships and the likelihood of the appeal being accepted, we have decided not to file an appeal to the Supreme Court against any of the defendants, including Honorary Chairman Lee, in the Invossa case, in which they were acquitted on appeal."

Earlier, on the 5th, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judge Baek Kangjin) handed down a verdict of not guilty and dismissal of charges to Honorary Chairman Lee, who had been indicted on charges including violations of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. Lee Wooseok, former CEO of Kolon Life Science, who was indicted alongside him, was also acquitted.

Honorary Chairman Lee was brought to trial in July 2020 on charges of defrauding patients of approximately 16 billion won by manufacturing and selling Invossa K Injection (Invossa) second solution, a gene therapy injection for osteoarthritis, with ingredients different from those approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

The appellate court stated, "We do not accept any of the allegations in the indictment that the defendants omitted to state, despite recognizing the error in identifying the origin of the cells in the Invossa second solution," adding, "We can agree with the lower court's determination that the defendants became aware of this only around March 2019, which is later than the time of manufacture and sale."