Hanmi Pharma chief survives ousting attempt by late founder's son

Hanmi Pharmaceutical chief executive Park Jae-hyun retained his top post in the company, fending off an attempt by Lim Jong-yoon, the late founder’s son, to oust him as the family feud continues.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical headquarters building in eastern Seoul [HANMI PHARMACEUTICAL]

Hanmi Pharmaceutical chief executive Park Jae-hyun retained his top post in the company, fending off an attempt by Lim Jong-yoon, the late founder’s son, to oust him.

This is the latest development in an ongoing family feud that has escalated into a conflict between holding company Hanmi Science and its subsidiary, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, following the affiliate's declaration of independent management.

The pharmaceutical firm held a board meeting on Monday at the request of Lim, who serves as an internal board member of the company, to dismiss Park and appoint himself.

Lim alleged that Park breached a corporate charter by appointing himself as the board chairman of Beijing Hanmi Pharmaceutical without board approval, to which the current chief rebutted that the appointment was a decision made by the former chief executive.

As a majority of seven out of 10 board members are aligned with Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group Chair Song Yeong-sook, the wife of Hanmi’s late founder Lim Sung-ki, and against Jong-yoon, Park successfully retained his top position. Jong-yoon told the press on Monday that he would not accept the board's decision, indicating further action.

The latest turn of events came as the pharmaceutical company said on Aug. 29 that it “will fully launch independent management led by Park, a professional CEO,” declaring a separation of management from Hanmi Science.

The parent company, in response, issued a statement on Aug. 30, and strongly criticized Park and Hanmi Pharmaceutical, even demoting Park from his position as the president, a move the subsidiary claims is invalid.

Song and her daughter Joo-hyun, who have been at odds with Jong-yoon and the other brother, Jong-hoon, faced a setback earlier this year when the brothers blocked a Hanmi-OCI merger proposed by the mother-daughter duo. Jong-hoon was appointed as the co-CEO of Hanmi Science and later ousted Song to become the sole CEO.

However, the family feud took a drastic turn in July when Shin Dong-guk, Hanyang Precision chairman and a friend of the late founder, severed his alliance with Jong-yoon to side with the mother-daughter force instead. As a result, Song and her allies, including Shin, secured a larger stake in Hanmi Science against the brothers.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical declined 2.06 percent to close at 309,000 won ($230.80) on Monday, while Hanmi Science inched up 0.76 percent to 33,200 won.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]