BioX-UCI, Withdrawal and Dismissal of Lawsuit... "Legal Dispute Concluded"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] BioX has agreed to coexist with UCI, with whom it had conflicts including legal disputes, to enhance shareholder value.

BioX announced on the 5th that the lawsuit filed by UCI was withdrawn after mutual misunderstandings were resolved, and the investigation was closed following the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's decision not to prosecute.

With the legal disputes between the two parties settled for the time being, both companies plan to focus all efforts on the commercialization of BioX's green hydrogen and the resumption of transactions with UCI.

The conflict between UCI and BioX began in April during the process of selling shares of OncoPep, a subsidiary, due to differences in the valuation of assets. UCI claimed that BioX, its subsidiary, undervalued the shares of OncoPep, an important business asset, and sold them at a "bargain price." Although the board of directors approved the sale, UCI filed a provisional injunction against BioX in court, arguing that the sale was illegal as it did not go through a special resolution at the shareholders' meeting, causing irreparable damage to the company.

The Seoul Western District Court (21st Civil Division) dismissed all provisional injunction requests and civil lawsuits filed by UCI against BioX, including allegations of ▲breach of duty and illegal acts related to the purchase of shares of other companies and ▲five agreements concerning transactions between affiliates, as stated in the "Provisional Injunction Decision on Prohibition of Duty Execution and Illegal Acts."

Considering that BioX has sold shares of OncoPep several times since acquiring it in May 2020, and that the sale of OncoPep yielded investment returns exceeding three times the acquisition cost, the court judged that the OncoPep shares were assets acquired and held by BioX for investment purposes. Therefore, the court concluded that the claim that a shareholders' meeting resolution was required or that the shares were sold at a bargain price was not substantiated.

Through the civil lawsuit and other dispute processes, BioX and UCI reduced their differences through mutual dialogue and review of supporting documents, resolving misunderstandings and conflicts. Recently, all lawsuits filed with the police by both parties were withdrawn, and with the investigations by law enforcement agencies concluded, they agreed to focus company-wide efforts on management and the resumption of transactions with UCI.

A company official explained, "Although misunderstandings accumulated due to a lack of communication between the parties caused the dispute, the civil lawsuit process thoroughly resolved misunderstandings and suspicions related to the sale of OncoPep and company operations," adding, "Through several meetings and deep conversations between management teams, we agreed to prioritize exploring ways to improve the company's management performance and enhance shareholder value."

He continued, "We apologize to the shareholders who suffered emotional distress due to the conflict between the two companies," and added, "Now that the legal disputes have been settled, BioX will continue efforts to maximize corporate value, focusing on the achievements of the green hydrogen business."

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