Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group Declares End to Management Dispute

The management dispute within Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group that has heated up the pharmaceutical and biotech industry for over 6months this year has come to an end.

On the 10th, Lim Jong-yoon, an executive director at Hanmi Science, released a statement announcing that Shin Dong-kuk, chairman of Hanyang Precision, declared the end of the dispute. According to the statement, this decision was made after a meeting between Director Lim and Chairman Shin the previous day.

Director Lim's side stated, "The familial discord within the Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group has been dramatically resolved. The family dispute, which lasted for more than six months, has been settled with Shin, a trusted 'old friend' of the late founder Lim Sung-ki and his family, at the center."

According to Director Lim, Chairman Shin said, "The purchase of some shares held by Chairman Song Young-sook and Vice Chairman Lim Joo-hyun was a grand decision to help resolve inheritance tax issues and to protect Hanmi Pharmaceutical."

He added, "We highly appreciate Chairman Song's decision to step back from the management front for the greater good of the company's development. We are discussing ways to integrate responsible management, professional management, and ethical management in a hybrid form with the two brothers to advance into a global company."

Director Lim's side further mentioned, "Chairman Shin and Director Lim have decided to invest in top-tier human resources who have experience in various fields, such as committees and advisory groups, to meet all shareholders' expectations by adding checks, transparency, and speed to the value-up process, leading to rapid results."

They noted that the combined Hanmi Science shares held by Chairman Shin, the mother and daughters, and the brothers exceed 51%, an unusual figure for a single management group.

The management dispute within Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group began in January this year when Chairman Song Young-sook announced a merger with the OCI Group, which was opposed by brothers Lim Jong-yoon and Lim Jong-hoon. The conflict escalated when Chairman Shin, who holds more than 12% of Hanmi Science shares, sided with the brothers. The contentious Hanmi Science shareholders' meeting in March ended with a victory for the brothers.

In April, Chairman Song and President Lim Jong-hoon assumed co-representation of Hanmi Science, which seemed to stabilize the situation. However, in May, the system changed to a sole representation by President Lim Jong-hoon. Last month, the brothers joined the board of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, but tensions arose when a board meeting to discuss Director Lim Jong-yoon's appointment as CEO failed. On the 3rd of this month, Chairman Song, Vice Chairman Lim Joo-hyun, and Chairman Shin signed a stock trading and voting rights joint exercise agreement, leading to speculations of a renewed management dispute. However, with the declaration of the end of the dispute by Chairman Shin and Director Lim, it is observed that the discord has been dramatically resolved.

Regarding the statements from Chairman Shin Dong-kuk and Executive Director Lim Jong-yoon, a Hanmi Pharmaceutical representative said, "We are verifying the facts."