It ended not with a bang, but a gavel. After more than 400 days of bitter boardroom battles, Hanmi Science closed the book on its management dispute in just 18 minutes Tuesday morning—declaring the start of a “New Hanmi” and handing full control to professional management.
At the 52nd annual general meeting held at Hanmi Tower in Seoul, Chairwoman Song Young-sook tendered her resignation as co-CEO, skipping the meeting entirely. It marked the final act of the “Group of Four” alliance’s takeover, and the clearest sign yet that the founding family—fractured by a mother-daughter versus brothers’ feud—is stepping back for good.
“This is the end of conflict in Hanmi Group,” Song said in a written farewell statement read aloud by Hanmi Science Outside Director Shin Yoo-cheol. “We are now committed only to enhancing shareholder value.”
With that, Hanmi Science and its flagship subsidiary Hanmi Pharmaceutical shifted fully into a professional management structure—a model Song described in her farewell remarks as “rarely seen” in Korea’s chaebol-driven pharmaceutical sector.
New board members, many with deep experience across pharma, biotech, and capital markets, were appointed at both companies as part of the cleanup.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical CEO Park Jae-hyun speaks during the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday at Hanmi Tower in Seoul, following the resolution of a prolonged leadership dispute. (Credit: Korea Biomedical Review)
Hanmi Pharmaceutical CEO Park Jae-hyun speaks during the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday at Hanmi Tower in Seoul, following the resolution of a prolonged leadership dispute. (Credit: Korea Biomedical Review)
Among them: Kim Jae-kyo, former Meritz Securities vice president and now vice chairman of Hanmi Science, was appointed non-executive director; and Choi In-young, who has spent 27 years building Hanmi’s R&D platforms, joined as an inside director. Both will serve three-year terms. The company also installed DR&AJU LLC Managing Partner Lee Young-ku as an outside director and audit committee member.
CEO Park Jae-hyun opened the day’s earlier Hanmi Pharm shareholder meeting by acknowledging the turbulence. “It was a chaotic year,” he said, “but thanks to your support, we made it through.” He cited record 2024 revenue of 1.5 trillion won ($1 billion) and operating profit of 216.2 billion won—adding that Hanmi has now launched more than 20 blockbuster drugs with over 10 billion won in outpatient prescription sales each, holding the No. 1 spot in Korea’s outpatient prescription market for the seventh straight year.
Still, Park was blunt about what those numbers don’t reflect: the company’s underwhelming stock performance. “Ultimately, management’s achievements must be reflected in the stock price,” he said, promising to refocus Hanmi’s efforts on visible, near-term results—especially in new drug development. “We’re shifting from research for the sake of research to research for tangible outcomes.”
That shift includes plans to accelerate commercialization in obesity treatments, an area where Hanmi says it holds “some of the world’s most advanced technologies.”
Across both meetings, shareholder attendance easily met quorum requirements. At Hanmi Pharm, 547 shareholders representing 76 percent of voting shares were present; at Hanmi Science, the turnout reached 62.9 percent of voting shares.
All agenda items passed smoothly at both meetings. Hanmi Science shareholders approved 2024 financial results (1.28 trillion won in revenue, 98.9 billion won in operating profit); the appointments of Hanmi Pharm Vice Chairwoman Lim Ju-hyun, Hanmi Science Vice Chairman Kim Jae-kyo, CFO Shim Byung-hwa, and former Strategy Planning Head Kim Seong-hoon as inside directors.
They also appointed former Mirae Asset Securities CEO Choi Hyun-man and former Korean Bar Association President Kim Yong-hun as outside directors, along with Professor Shin Yong-sam, a neurosurgeon at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, who will also serve on the audit committee. Director compensation limits were also approved.
At Hanmi Pharm, five resolutions were approved, including financials, charter amendments, director appointments, and the dividend: 1,000 won per share (40 percent of par value) for year-end, and 1,250 won in total with the August interim payout.
Song, in her prepared remarks, said it was time to let go of the past. “The struggles we endured were simply the first steps toward something greater,” she wrote. “Now, Hanmi Group will rise—with humanity, with innovation, and with a spirit of challenge at its core.”
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Kim Ji-hye jkim404@docdocdoc.co.kr
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