Korea Kolmar Second-Generation Owner Vice Chairman Yoon Sang-hyun Resigns as CEO

Preliminary Work for Next Year's Affiliate IPO

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Yoon Sang-hyun, the second-generation owner and vice chairman of Korea Kolmar, is stepping down from his roles as CEO of Korea Kolmar and HK Innoen to resolve controversies over holding dual CEO positions.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 8th, Korea Kolmar announced the day before that it will shift from a three-CEO system consisting of Vice Chairman Yoon and professional managers CEO Ahn Byung-joon and CEO Lee Ho-kyung to a two-CEO system with CEOs Ahn and Lee. With this, Korea Kolmar has transitioned from a three-CEO system including the owner to a two-CEO system led by professional managers.

Vice Chairman Yoon will also step down from his CEO position at HK Innoen, the pharmaceutical affiliate. This resignation is a preparatory step for HK Innoen's initial public offering (IPO) next year. For companies listed on the KOSPI market, holding executive positions across affiliates is prohibited. According to the Korea Exchange, if controlling shareholders of a company applying for listing concurrently hold executive positions in affiliates and receive excessive compensation, it is deemed to undermine management transparency, and thus such practices are prohibited.

However, he will retain his positions as chairman of the board and vice chairman of the holding company Korea Kolmar Holdings. Although he is stepping down from the CEO roles at Korea Kolmar and HK Innoen, there will be no change in his involvement in overall group management, including leading the group's business operations. A Korea Kolmar official stated, "Vice Chairman Yoon will focus on setting the business direction for the group as chairman of the Korea Kolmar Holdings board."

Yoon, the eldest son of founder and former chairman Yoon Dong-han, was promoted from president to vice chairman of Korea Kolmar last December and secured the position of largest shareholder of Korea Kolmar Holdings with a 30.25% stake after receiving shares from former chairman Yoon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.