Lim Jong-yoon: "OCI-Hanmi Merger Regresses ESG... Achieving 1 Trillion Won Net Profit with Beijing Hanmi's Success Experience"

Lim Jong-yoon, President of Hanmi Pharm, and Lim Jong-hoon, CEO of Hanmi Fine Chemical, are speaking at a press conference related to Hanmi Group on the 21st. / Photo by Jang Hyo-won

Jong-yoon Lim, President of Hanmi Pharm, pointed out on the 21st that the share transaction between OCI and Hanmi, involving Chairman Young-sook Song of Hanmi Pharm, is an act that goes against ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management. He also presented a goal to raise Hanmi Group's net profit to the 1 trillion KRW level based on the experience of achieving a 25% profit margin at Beijing Hanmi.

President Lim held a press conference at the Federation of Korean Industries building in Yeouido, Seoul, stating, “If the merger between OCI and Hanmi Group takes place, the governance structure will become opaque, making the company one that goes against ESG,” and emphasized, “Institutional investors such as the National Pension Service should clearly view this matter according to the guidelines.”

Lim pointed out that if the OCI-Hanmi case is accepted, a business model that gains unfair profits through disputes will become widespread, increasing market confusion. He said, “To increase the value of the domestic stock market and eliminate the Korea discount, it is essential for supervisory and monitoring agencies to verify that there are no issues with this case.”

Furthermore, he presented a concrete goal of achieving a net profit of 1 trillion KRW after securing management rights of Hanmi Group. The strategy is to use the net profit to enhance shareholder value through treasury stock cancellation and dividends. He stated, “When I was in Beijing, about 20 drugs were approved, and among them, about four products ranked first in China,” adding, “Beijing Hanmi achieved a profit margin of about 25% last year.”

He said, “Hanmi Pharm has developed 450 chemical drugs, and has accumulated experience in manufacturing and obtaining approvals directly at its factories,” and added, “By integrating all of this, we plan to produce more than 100 bio-drugs in the future that are high-priced and economically viable.”

To this end, after winning the general shareholders' meeting, there is a plan to attract investments exceeding 1 trillion KRW and expand bio-drug production facilities. He emphasized, “Hanmi Group will become a development-specialized company and build the company to the extent that even if a pandemic occurs, essential parts can be produced at Hanmi factories.”

In fact, since 2019, President Lim Jong-yoon has served as chairman of the Korea Bio Association and made efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic by personally visiting global pharmaceutical and bio companies to bring vaccines into Korea. He said, “At that time, Hanmi Group forcibly dismissed me and the professors who actually make vaccines,” and added, “Therefore, I want to find Hanmi Group to build a pharmaceutical powerhouse.”

Finally, he said, “The previous chairman held 64% of Hanmi Science’s shares, but we plan to accumulate more aiming for 67%,” and added, “We are responsible and even considering holding an extraordinary shareholders' meeting after the regular one.”

Jong-hoon Lim, CEO of Hanmi Fine Chemical, who attended the briefing together, said, “Starting as a sales representative at Hanmi Group, I learned the philosophy of the previous chairman that ‘the answer is in the field,’” and added, “I believe that someone who knows Hanmi’s culture should lead for Hanmi Group to grow further.”

Meanwhile, Hanmi Science will hold a regular shareholders' meeting on the 28th at the Ravideul Hotel in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss the appointment of directors and other matters.

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