Hanmi Science shares surge despite imminent family dispute

Shares of Hanmi Science Co., a biotech firm on the verge of a management dispute between the owner family members, rapidly surged on Monday morning.

The stock traded at 42,800 won per share as of 9:52 on Monday, up 11 percent from the previous price.

With OCI Holdings Co. announcing the acquisition of a stake in Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., the surge cones amid opposition to the acquisition by Lim Jong-yoon, the president of the pharmaceutical firm and the eldest son of the company’s late founder.

Lim objected to the acquisition, saying his mother and sister made the unilateral decision. His mother is Song Young-sook, the chairwoman of Hanmi Pharm Group, and his sister is Lim Joo-hyun, head of Management Planning at Hanmi Pharm.

“I was never informed of the acquisition in question by the company and other family members,” Lim said in an X (formerly Twitter) post on Saturday.

Hanmi Pharm Group and OCI Group announced on Friday that OCI Holdings will acquire a 27 percent stake in Hanmi Science for 770 billion won ($584 million), the holding company of Hanmi Pharm Group, and major shareholders of Hanmi Science, including Lim Joo-hyun, will acquire a 10.4 percent stake in OCI.