Court: "Hanmi Pharm Group Decision is at the General Meeting"... Lim Jong-yoon "Immediate Appeal"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lim Jong-yoon, President of Hanmi Pharm, stated that they will immediately appeal the court's dismissal of the injunction prohibiting Hanmi Science's new share issuance.

The Suwon District Court (31st Civil Division, presiding judge Jo Byung-gu) dismissed the injunction request filed to prohibit Hanmi Science's new share issuance on the 26th.

The court stated, "Although there is suspicion that the new share issuance was made with the purpose of strengthening the management rights or control over debtors Song Young-sook and Lim Joo-hyun, at this stage, there is insufficient reason to view this new share issuance as violating laws or the articles of incorporation, or as being conducted in a manifestly unfair manner."

It added, "Whether Song Young-sook and Lim Joo-hyun linked the payment of inheritance tax funds with this new share issuance and conducted the transaction in a manner that properly fulfills their duty to faithfully perform their responsibilities for the company will likely be evaluated by shareholders through the process of appointing directors at the shareholders' meeting."

Following the announcement of the court's decision, Hanmi Science's stock price plummeted. Some analysts interpreted this as growing market concerns over the possibility of a subordinate merger with OCI, which the current management is pursuing.

In response, President Lim Jong-yoon said, "Since the court's injunction decision is a temporary measure, we will immediately appeal it and also contest the unfairness of the decision through the main lawsuit."

He emphasized, "Regardless of the injunction decision, as the court acknowledged, the shareholders' meeting should evaluate the rationality and appropriateness of the board of directors' business judgment regarding this new share issuance. Through the shareholders' evaluation, any illegal situation in the company can be corrected."

Meanwhile, Hanmi Science will hold a shareholders' meeting on the 28th, which includes the composition and replacement of the board of directors. Chairman Song Young-sook and President Lim Joo-hyun have nominated allies who will support the merger, while the Lim brothers, Jong-yoon and Jong-hoon, have recommended allies opposing the merger and supporting management normalization. Up to 10 members can be included on the board, and the directors will be decided based on the highest number of votes.

The Lim brothers recently increased their friendly shareholding to nearly 40% with the support of Shin Dong-guk, Chairman of Hanyang Precision (holding 12.25%). Additionally, small shareholders who oppose the subordinate merger and have even submitted petitions against the integration have actively joined. If the brothers win at the shareholders' meeting, it will be possible to block Hanmi's subordinate merger. The small shareholders' stake is estimated at about 20%.

The brothers also urged, "We hope that another major shareholder, the National Pension Service (holding 7.66%), will make a decision that meets the market's expectations."

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