Seo Jungjin Returns as Celltrion Shareholders’ Meeting Chair After 11 Years... Unveils Blueprint for Robotics and New Drugs (Comprehensive)

Chairman Seo Makes Surprise Appearance at Shareholders’ Meeting on the 24th
Unveils Plans for Anti-Obesity Drug and Introduction of Robots in New Plants

Seo Jungjin, Chairman of Celltrion Group, took the helm as chair of the regular shareholders’ meeting for the first time in about 11 years since March 2015. Amid global external uncertainties, he presented a comprehensive future vision for the company, including unwavering performance growth, strong shareholder returns, the adoption of advanced manufacturing processes such as robotics, and the development of next-generation new drugs.

Seo Jungjin, Chairman of Celltrion Group, is speaking at the regular general shareholders' meeting held on the 24th at Songdo Convensia in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. Celltrion

At the regular shareholders’ meeting held on the 24th at Songdo Convensia in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Chairman Seo stated, “Despite an unstable business environment, Celltrion has firmly established an export-oriented business structure, so the impact of global political and economic uncertainty is extremely limited.” He added, “Uncertainty is high worldwide due to wars and political factors, but Celltrion is largely unaffected thanks to its export-focused structure. In fact, the rise in exchange rates creates a more favorable business environment compared to our initial plans.”

"Operating Profit Expected to Exceed 1.8 Trillion Won This Year"... Robots to Be Introduced in New Plants

He also unveiled a roadmap to achieve stepwise profit growth each quarter, starting with an operating profit in the 300 billion won range for the first quarter of this year. Chairman Seo predicted, “We expect profits to increase by about 100 billion won each quarter,” forecasting annual operating profit to reach approximately 1.8 trillion won. He clarified that this figure is a conservatively set target.

His confidence in performance growth led to a major overhaul of the shareholder return policy. Starting this year, Celltrion will move beyond its previous defensive strategy focusing on share buybacks and significantly increase the proportion of cash dividends. Chairman Seo explained, “Until now, we have mainly bought back and canceled our own shares, but this year, we will return one-third of our after-tax profit to shareholders as cash dividends. The remaining profits will be allocated equally to investment and cash reserves.” In addition, the company plans to cancel all its treasury shares—amounting to about 4% of total issued shares—to raise per-share value. Celltrion has also set up a safeguard in case the company’s market value continues to be undervalued compared to its intrinsic value. Chairman Seo emphasized, “When we determined that the stock price was undervalued, I personally bought treasury shares worth 50 billion won, and at the holdings level, we purchased shares worth 750 billion won. If necessary, we are considering an additional purchase of about 250 billion won should the company’s value become unstable or remain undervalued going forward.”

Celltrion is also making astronomical investments to expand its advanced biopharmaceutical manufacturing infrastructure. The company will invest a total of 1.2265 trillion won to simultaneously construct its fourth and fifth plants, each with a capacity of 180,000 liters, at the Songdo campus in Incheon. Notably, Celltrion plans to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics on a large scale not only in the new plants but also in existing production lines to maximize process efficiency. Chairman Seo stated, “Once robot prices drop below 70 million won, robots will be introduced into the fourth and fifth plants. Going forward, all new plants will be equipped with robots, and we also plan to introduce them into our existing facilities.”

"Robots and AI, a National Employment Shock"... 23 Pipelines Including Anti-Obesity New Drug Enter Full-Scale Development

While the introduction of robots and AI will give Celltrion a breakthrough in cost competitiveness, Chairman Seo also expressed concern that, on a societal level, it could trigger an employment crisis. He remarked, “AI and robots are likely to cause serious employment issues in the future,” adding, “From a national perspective, the employment problem will gradually become more severe.”

Seo Jeong-jin, Chairman of Celltrion Group, is speaking at the regular shareholders' meeting held on the 24th at Songdo Convensia in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. Celltrion

Celltrion’s next-generation new drug pipeline, aimed at securing future growth engines, is also now in full swing. Targeting the global surge in demand for anti-obesity drugs, Celltrion is focusing all its resources on developing a fourth-generation anti-obesity drug that overcomes the limitations of existing treatments. Chairman Seo explained, “The anti-obesity drug we are developing is fourth-generation,” and announced, “We will begin animal trials for approval this May.” He highlighted minimization of side effects as a key differentiator from existing first- to third-generation treatments. “The most significant side effect has been muscle loss, but the fourth-generation drug candidates minimize muscle loss while maintaining consistent efficacy,” he said, adding that Celltrion has three fourth-generation candidate substances and signaling a race to clinical trials. Celltrion is currently running a total of 23 new drug pipelines, including nine antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) and five multi-specific antibodies.

Meanwhile, Chairman Seo also personally addressed the recent fatal industrial accident involving a subcontractor’s worker at Celltrion’s Songdo plant in Incheon, vowing a thorough response. Chairman Seo said, “A tragic incident occurred last Sunday during piping construction. As this happened in the course of work, I promise, as the CEO, to closely examine the work process and to faithfully carry out all responsibilities required of me and the company.”

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