‘Stock Over People’ Hwail Pharm, Concerned Only About Sales Impact Despite Death Occurrence

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[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Hwail Pharmaceuticals, which experienced fatalities in a fire accident, issued a press release stating that there is "no significant impact on sales." The release contains no apology or mention of the deceased and injured, sparking controversy.

On the 4th, Hwail Pharmaceuticals distributed a press release titled "No significant impact on sales expected from the fire accident... Doing our best to manage and prevent recurrence."

Previously, on the 30th, a fire broke out at Hwail Pharmaceuticals’ Sangsin-ri factory located in the pharmaceutical complex of Hyangnam-eup, Hwaseong City, resulting in one employee’s death and 16 injuries.

However, the company stated in the press release that "the Sangsin-ri factory produced products accounting for 10% of Hwail Pharmaceuticals’ sales last year," and that they "plan to actively utilize the nearby Hagil-ri factory and Banwol factory."

They further explained, "Fortunately, the Sangsin-ri factory where the fire occurred is properly insured under KB Insurance’s fire insurance, with a coverage amount of 24.1 billion KRW."

Despite the human casualties, the company used the term "fortunately" to indicate that losses can be recovered through insurance. Apart from this, no apology or mention of the deceased and injured was found.

The reason Hwail Pharmaceuticals issued such a release is interpreted as an attempt to stabilize the company’s stock price, which has been weak. As of 9:48 AM that day, Hwail Pharmaceuticals’ stock price was trading at 1,900 KRW, down 5.71% from the previous trading day. This is despite the KOSDAQ index showing a rise of over 2%, indicating a widening decline.

Meanwhile, Hwail Pharmaceuticals is a company specializing in the development and production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). It has secured production processes for various finished dosage forms including injections, capsules, and tablets from the raw material development stage, and currently produces raw materials such as dexamethasone, chloroquine, and kimostate.

Hwail Pharmaceuticals’ largest shareholders are Kumho HT, SMAC, and Ohsung Advanced Materials, holding a combined 29.2% stake. These companies are all part of Chairman Jo Kyungsook’s group. Chairman Jo is also listed as a co-CEO of Hwail Pharmaceuticals.

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