Hanmi Pharmaceutical Board Rejects Nomination of Lim JongYoon as CEO

Park Jaehyun, CEO of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, retained his position following a board decision that rejected the proposal to appoint Lim Jongyoon, an internal director, as CEO.

On August 2, Hanmi Pharmaceutical held a board meeting to discuss several agenda items, including the proposal to appoint Lim as CEO and the replacement and appointment of the Chairman of Beijing Hanmi. All ten board members attended the meeting, with two participating remotely. The proposed items were all rejected.

The board meeting was convened at the request of Lim, who had raised concerns about recent organizational changes and personnel appointments made by CEO Park without board approval. Lim particularly objected to Park appointing himself as Chairman of Beijing Hanmi.

Kim Taeyoon, an outside director and head of the audit committee at Hanmi Pharmaceutical, commented on the board’s decision: “A professional management system is not only a goal but a vision that any company striving for global standards should aim for. The board's resolution is significant in ensuring stable management and reinforcing corporate governance at Hanmi Pharmaceutical.”

Last month, on July 28, CEO Park had moved to assert more independent control by establishing a new HR organization and taking back HR responsibilities that had been delegated to Hanmi Science, the holding company. This move deepened the conflict with Lim Jonghoon, CEO of Hanmi Science, who criticized Park's actions as insubordination and demoted him from CEO to Head of Manufacturing.

Following the board meeting, Lim Jongyoon expressed his dissatisfaction to reporters, stating, “CEO Park claims to be the Chairman of Beijing Hanmi, but one cannot assume that role without approval from the board. I convened the board meeting to set the right direction for Hanmi's growth, but the board members are only listening to Park's claims and are not making independent judgments.”

He added, “I left the board meeting midway because I felt the situation was abnormal. I plan to discuss the issues with the audit committee and consider calling an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to potentially replace the board members.”

The removal of a director with a remaining term requires a special resolution at a shareholders' meeting, needing approval from at least two-thirds of the voting rights present. Hanmi Science, the largest shareholder of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, holds a 41.42% stake, followed by the National Pension Service (9.27%) and Shin Dong-kook, Chairman of Hanyang Precision (7.72%). Lim Jongyoon believes there is a chance of success at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting.