[Interview] CEO Jongseon Yoon of HLB Innovation: "Semiconductor Recovery and New Drug Clinical Trials... Corporate Value Reassessment"

Selected for AACR's Most Prestigious 'Plenary Session', Demonstrating Global Clinical Competitiveness

Accelerating 'Two-Track Growth' in Semiconductors and New Drug Development

Simultaneously Strengthening Fundamentals and Future Value

Yoon Jong-sun, CEO of HLB Innovation.

HLB Innovation, a semiconductor component company, is accelerating efforts to redefine its corporate value by maintaining a stable governance structure while further enhancing execution and management efficiency under its new CEO system. At the regular shareholders' meeting held on March 20, Jin Yang-gon was reappointed as Chairman of the Board, and Jongseon Yoon, former CEO of HLB Science, was appointed as the new CEO.

CEO Yoon stated, "HLB Innovation is not merely going through a superficial transformation, but it is at a point where we must clearly explain the company's intrinsic value and direction to the market." He added, "Internally, we will improve operational efficiency, and externally, we will reorganize our communication with the market to build a foundation that allows our corporate value to be properly recognized."

Market insiders view this CEO transition not as a simple personnel change, but as a shift that adds execution to an already stable foundation. While Chairman Jin's reappointment demonstrates the group's continuity and stability, Yoon's appointment is interpreted as a move to strengthen HLB Innovation's fundamentals and enhance its operational efficiency. Given CEO Yoon's experience in finance and management optimization, he is expected to play a positive role in improving the company's structure and strengthening communication with the capital market going forward.

With stable growth in its core business and the increasing visibility of its subsidiary Verismo's R&D achievements, HLB Innovation's corporate value is being re-evaluated and gaining renewed attention in the market. Verismo is scheduled to deliver an oral presentation of the interim Phase 1 clinical results for its CAR-T cell therapy SynKIR-110 for solid tumors at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR 2026) Annual Meeting in San Diego, USA, starting April 17. Notably, among the AACR papers, Verismo has been selected—uniquely among Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies—for the Clinical Trials Plenary Session (CTPL), the most prestigious presentation session, officially recognizing its global clinical competitiveness and research value.

This optimism was quickly reflected in the stock price. HLB Innovation's closing price rose from 2,825 won on February 25 to 5,390 won on March 25, a month-on-month increase of approximately 90.8%. Industry experts attribute this surge to the recovery of its core semiconductor component business and the positive R&D results at Verismo, which have heightened expectations for the company's revaluation.

CEO Yoon emphasized, "Verismo is one of the core growth pillars for HLB Innovation. The upcoming AACR presentation is significant, as it marks a stage where our technology and pipelines can engage with the market through actual data, going beyond mere participation in an academic conference." He further noted, "Since both solid and hematologic cancer research results will be presented, it will demonstrate the scalability and future development direction of Verismo's KIR-CAR platform."

HLB Innovation's strength lies in the fact that it is not limited to the bio sector. The company began as a semiconductor component business focused on lead frames in 1978, and currently generates stable revenue from its core operations. In fact, last year, the company’s standalone revenue reached 32.2 billion won, a year-on-year increase of about 27%, and both operating profit and net income turned positive. Furthermore, the semiconductor market this year is expected to reach 1 trillion dollars in global sales, driven by robust demand spurred by AI adoption, with strong semiconductor demand projected to continue at Samsung Electronics and across the industry.

For these reasons, industry observers believe that HLB Innovation, with the solid growth of its core lead frame semiconductor business and the momentum from Verismo's new drug development, is well positioned to strengthen its mid- to long-term growth foundation by balancing its semiconductor and bio sectors.

CEO Yoon commented, "HLB Innovation will continue to enhance both substance and future value based on its two pillars: semiconductor components and new drug development. It is crucial to ensure that the current semiconductor boom and the soon-to-be-realized future value of Verismo are properly reflected in our company’s valuation."

The recent reverse stock split initiated by the company is also seen as a measure to better reflect both current business stability and future growth potential in its share price. In particular, with the launch of the new management and the ongoing internal efficiency improvements and increasingly visible R&D results from Verismo, this action is regarded as more than just a price adjustment; it is seen as laying the groundwork to more clearly communicate the company’s value and growth strategy to the market.

Industry insiders also note that HLB Innovation’s recent reverse stock split is a proactive measure to enhance corporate value, distinct from the typical cases among some small-cap stocks that seek to shed their "penny stock" image.

CEO Yoon said, "It is more important to consistently demonstrate that the company's structure and direction are truly changing, rather than treating this as a short-term event. We will continue to advance key businesses such as Verismo, improve our internal structure, and rebuild trust with the market."

He added, "For sustainable growth and to strengthen our mid- to long-term competitiveness, we are pursuing upfront payments through technology transfer (L/O) as a core strategy. At the same time, we are also considering raising strategic investment from global asset management firms to enhance negotiation efficiency. This is a strategic decision not merely for capital procurement, but to build a stable growth foundation and strengthen a sustainable management system based on global partnerships."

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