Hanmi Pharmaceutical headquarters. [Hanmi Pharm]
Hanmi Pharmaceutical headquarters. [Hanmi Pharm]

The ownership structure of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group is in turmoil once again. A series of large-scale stake transactions among major shareholders of holding company Hanmi Science has reshuffled the control landscape, while controversy over what critics call "imperial-style governance" by its largest shareholder, Shin Dong-kook, chairman of Hanyang Precision, is deepening concerns about corporate instability.

Hanmi Science disclosed Tuesday that Shin, its largest individual shareholder, would purchase 3,604,799 common shares in an off-market transaction worth approximately 172.7 billion won ($113 million). Once completed, Shin's personal stake will rise from 22.88 percent to 28.15 percent. Combined with the 6.95 percent held through Hanyang Precision, he will control a total of 35.1 percent of the company. The shares were acquired from Im Jong-yoon, chairman of the Koree Group and eldest son of the late founder Im Sung-ki. The transaction narrows the gap with the 40.86 percent friendly stake held by Chairwoman Song Young-sook and her daughter, Vice Chairwoman Im Joo-hyun, along with allied firm La Défense Partners, to 5.76 percentage points.

The founder's second son, Im Jong-hoon, chief executive of Hanmi Fine Chemical, chose a different path. He recently sold a 2.5 percent stake to NAU IB Capital, aligning himself with his mother and sister. Shin's camp had reportedly approached Im Jong-hoon through a securities firm to acquire his entire stake, exploring financing of around 300 billion won, but Im turned down the offer. "I will carry on the founder's vision together with my mother and sister," Im said, cementing a new fault line between Shin — who has now absorbed the eldest son's shares — and the mother-daughter-second son bloc.

At the center of these ownership maneuvers is a pattern of broken commitments and management interference by Shin that market observers say poses a serious governance risk. Despite holding only a non-executive outside director seat on the board, Shin has repeatedly bypassed the chief executive to intervene directly with employees, according to critics. When former CEO Park Jae-hyun pushed back, Shin reportedly compared himself to a president, saying, "Does a president only work through the prime minister? Sometimes you call in a minister, sometimes the intelligence chief" — remarks widely seen as undermining the CEO's authority.

That imperial mindset has translated into tangible damage to corporate value. Shin reversed a mutual shareholder agreement with Song and Im Joo-hyun within three days of signing it, scuttling a planned premium senior-living development that had been touted as a key new business. He now faces a civil lawsuit seeking a 60 billion won penalty, with the trial ongoing. Hanyang S&C, a company Shin owns outright, also draws fire for a past Supreme Court ruling ordering it to return more than 2 billion won in government subsidies it had improperly received, raising further questions about his credibility.

Evidence has also emerged of Shin applying personal pressure on Park even within a professional-management structure nominally centered on the board. Shin allegedly made unreasonable demands of the former CEO, including requesting a list of his private real estate holdings. Park, who has since stepped down to an advisory role, said the experience left lasting damage. "I lost a great deal of my health from the extreme stress caused by the controlling shareholder's interference at the time, and the aftereffects were severe enough that I sought psychiatric treatment," he said. "If demeaning remarks continue in official settings, I am considering legal action, including a defamation complaint."

Market observers say shareholder confidence cannot be restored as long as the controlling shareholder treats a listed company as personal property. "It is a snapshot of a governance mindset that views a listed company as the controlling shareholder's private possession," one capital markets official said. "That kind of governance instability is diluting even the company's genuine strengths in drug development."


silverpaper@heraldcorp.com