Recruitment of Talent Across All Fields... The Pharmaceutical Industry's Barriers Have Been Lifted

"Need for Innovation in Management System"
Recruitment of Industry Outsiders Including Former Samsung Electronics and Bank of Korea Personnel

Active Hiring of External Experts to Strengthen New Drug Development and Lead New Businesses

From the left, Baek Kyung-tae, Vice Chairman of Hanmi Science; Song Ki-seok, Head of Value Innovation at SK Bioscience; Song Soo-young, President of Huons Global; Lee Han-joo, Head of Discovery Unit at GC Green Cross; Kang Deok-won, Head of Production Division at Ildong Pharmaceutical.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The domestic pharmaceutical industry, which has long been regarded as closed compared to other industries, is accelerating the recruitment of external talent not only in new drug development but also in business activities (IR) and finance. This is interpreted as a move to unlock the gates for ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management and securing future growth engines.

"Bring in Talent" for Management Innovation

According to the pharmaceutical and bio industry on the 24th, Hanmi Science, the holding company of Hanmi Pharm Group, recently attracted attention by recruiting Vice Chairman Bae Gyeong-tae (64), who previously served as a vice president at Samsung Electronics. Vice Chairman Bae was responsible for overseas sales as the head of China, the Middle East, and Africa at Samsung Electronics, and also served as the head of the digital media HR team, successfully managing efficient personnel and educational innovation. Despite having no experience in the pharmaceutical industry, he was recruited for his recognized management capabilities in other sectors.

Along with recruiting Vice Chairman Bae, Hanmi Science established a strategic planning office to lead group strategy formulation and appointed Bae as the head of this office. A Hanmi Pharm Group official explained, "We highly evaluated his capabilities in domestic and overseas sales, management, and organizational management," adding, "He is the right person to strengthen cooperation, communication, and innovation within the group, and we plan to maximize synergy among affiliates."

SK Bioscience reorganized its existing IR office into the ‘Value Innovation Office’ on the 1st of this month and recruited Director Song Gi-seok, who previously worked at the Bank of Korea and Merrill Lynch. Director Song, who also serves as the head of the Value Innovation Office at the holding company SK Discovery, has no experience in pharmaceutical or bio companies. He is regarded as a financial expert, having served as research head and APAC (Asia-Pacific) financial industry head at Merrill Lynch. Director Song is entrusted with overseeing tasks related to value innovation. Earlier in June, SK Bioscience also established a dedicated medical and pharmaceutical organization called the ‘Medical Affairs Office’ and recruited Medical Director Kim Hye-young from Pfizer Korea. These new recruitments are all evaluated as efforts aimed at enhancing business competitiveness and corporate value.

Huons Group, which transitioned to a professional management system this year, is also accelerating talent recruitment. The holding company Huons Global recruited President Song Soo-young, who served as CEO of Deloitte Consulting Korea and Japan, and appointed former Samil Accounting Corporation accountant Kang Shin-won as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Huons Group stated, "We judged that bold change and innovation are necessary for a new leap forward, so we transitioned to a professional management system and recruited experts to lead management innovation."

Active Recruitment of New Drug Development and New Business Experts

Recruitment to strengthen new drug development and expand detailed business areas has also continued. Ildong Pharmaceutical welcomed three external experts this year alone. They recruited Kang Deok-won, Vice President and Head of Production, from Samsung Bioepis and GC Green Cross; Lee Jae-jun, Vice President and Head of Global Division, who previously served as CEO of Youngjin Pharm; and Lee Shin-young, Executive Director and Head of the CHC (Consumer Healthcare) division, responsible for the healthcare sector, a new growth engine. Ildong Pharmaceutical stated, "These recruitments aim to strengthen production and quality control, activate pipeline technology exports, and expand business areas."

GC Green Cross also recruited Lee Han-joo as the head of the Discovery Unit in the R&D division. Lee has a track record of discovering new drug substances and establishing R&D strategies at SK Biopharm and ViroMed. He will play a leading role in discovering new drug candidates for various diseases, including rare diseases.

Medytoks, which focuses on botulinum toxin products, has also continued recruitment to strengthen new businesses. Recently, they established a Bio-Beauty Business Division and appointed Director Kim Mi-sung, a cosmetics expert with experience at Cheil Worldwide and Est?e Lauder, as the head. Additionally, they recruited Director Lee Heon-sik, formerly of LG Household & Health Care Technology Institute, as the head of the Health Functional Food Business Division, planning to actively enter the health functional food market.

An industry insider analyzed, "Securing new sources of revenue is essential in the post-COVID era, so there is a more active atmosphere for talent recruitment according to business area expansion," adding, "The expansion of ESG management trends has also influenced increased interest in management innovation."

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