Ligakem Bio CEO Kim Yongju Promoted to Chairman... New CEO Appointed: COO Park Sejin

Marking the 20th Anniversary

Ligakem Bioscience, an affiliate of Orion Group, announced its executive appointments on April 28th to mark its 20th anniversary. Founder and CEO Kim Yongju has been promoted to chairman and will now take on an advisory role.

Yongju Kim, the newly appointed chairman of Ligachem Bio. Ligachem Bio

Regarding these appointments, the company stated, "This is in line with Ligakem Bio's next-generation leadership development and succession plan. By appointing proven talent, we aim to strengthen our future competitiveness and lay the foundation for sustainable growth."

As part of these changes, Kim Yongju has been promoted to chairman. Kim, who founded Ligakem Bio on May 2, 2006, will resign from the CEO position and focus on identifying new growth engines, serving as an advisor to Orion Group's bio business.

The new CEO will be Park Sejin, currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). As a co-founder, Park has led Ligakem Bio's growth by overseeing overall management, enabling Chairman Kim to focus on research and new drug development.

The R&D (Research and Development) division will be overseen by Executive Vice President Chae Je-uk, who also serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and head of the Boston clinical subsidiary.

Orion Group explained, "CEO Park Sejin has strengthened organizational capabilities based on his extensive experience in strategy and planning, while Executive Vice President Chae Je-uk is leading research and development innovation, which is our core competitive strength. Through this, we have established a new leadership system that combines continuity and expertise."

According to Ligakem Bio's talent identification and development program, Ok Chan-young, who joined last year as head of the Translational Research (TR) Center, has been promoted to executive director. Translational research refers to research that translates basic scientific discoveries into actual medical treatments and validates them in a clinical setting.

Executive Director Ok Chan-young, recognized as Korea’s top expert in translational research, previously served as a professor of oncology at Seoul National University and as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at medical AI company Lunit. He has led various new drug development projects that combined clinical experience in cancer treatment with AI technology in partnership with global pharmaceutical companies.

Ligakem Bio plans to enhance its clinical differentiation and expand partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies through AI-driven translational research.

Orion Group stated, "With this appointment, Chairman Kim Yongju’s expertise and extensive experience will further strengthen the competitiveness of Orion Group’s bio business overall," adding, "Ligakem Bio will continue to grow as a world-class biotech company with differentiated research capabilities through its new leadership."

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