Dong-A ST President Jaehoon Jeong "Expanding R&D in Cancer, Rare Diseases, and Immunotherapy"

At the 12th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Dong-A ST, Dong-A ST President Jae-Hoon Jung (center) is delivering a greeting. Photo by Dong-A ST

Dong-A ST held its 12th regular general meeting of shareholders at 9 a.m. on the 31st in the auditorium on the 7th floor of its headquarters in Yongdu-dong, Dongdaemun-gu.

At this regular general meeting of shareholders, four agenda items were presented and all were approved as originally proposed: ▲Approval of the 12th term (2024.01.01 ~ 2024.12.31) financial statements (including the appropriation of retained earnings) and consolidated financial statements ▲Appointment of directors ▲Appointment of outside directors as audit committee members ▲Approval of the limit on directors' remuneration.

In the 12th term business report, Dong-A ST reported achieving sales of KRW 640.7 billion and operating profit of KRW 32.5 billion based on separate financial statements for 2024. Subsequently, approval of the financial statements and consolidated financial statements, and the implementation of a cash dividend of KRW 700 per common share and a stock dividend of 0.02 shares per common share were proposed and resolved. Dividends are scheduled to be paid within one month from the date of the general meeting of shareholders.

President Jae-Hong Park was reappointed as an inside director. Professor Beom-Jun Kim, head of the Accounting Department at Catholic University, was reappointed as an outside director and audit committee member. Outside directors serving as audit committee members were elected separately, with voting rights per shareholder limited to 3% individually during the audit committee member election.

Chairman of the general meeting of shareholders, President Jae-Hoon Jung, said in his greeting, "Despite difficult business conditions last year such as prolonged high interest rates, economic slowdown, and political conflicts, we made great efforts to improve growth and profitability, resulting in increased sales compared to the previous year and maintaining operating profit at a similar level."

He continued, "The global blockbuster Stelara biosimilar Imuldo received approval from the U.S. FDA and European EMA last year and is preparing for a successful launch, while the 37th new drug Jakyubo, which we co-market, is rapidly joining the ranks of blockbuster products."

He also stated, "Growth hormone product Grotropin and functional dyspepsia treatment Morititon are growing, and sales of Canpakas in Cambodia are recovering."

Finally, he emphasized, "Dong-A ST will expand research and development into advanced fields such as cancer, rare diseases, and immunotherapy, and strengthen investments in innovative projects like digital healthcare, which will be at the center of future medical technology, thereby further expanding its presence in the global pharmaceutical market. We will achieve visible results through continuous R&D and strengthening competitiveness in the global market to meet the expectations of our shareholders."

Meanwhile, to enhance governance transparency and shareholder value, Dong-A ST has composed its board of directors with a majority of outside directors as the internal decision-making body, separating the roles of CEO and board chairman, with an outside director serving as chairman. Additionally, the board committees, including the Evaluation and Compensation Committee and the Audit Committee, are composed entirely of outside directors, and the Outside Director Candidate Recommendation Committee is operated with at least two-thirds outside directors.

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