This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:35 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2026.
As GeneOne Life Science's paid-in capital increase has struggled for half a year, the market is focusing on whether the payment will go through. Exion Group, which was supposed to bankroll the paid-in capital increase late last year, pulled out and a white knight newly emerged, but it has been sticking to an ambiguous stance.
According to investment banking (IB) and capital market industry sources on the 20th, GeneOne Life Science plans to wrap up a third-party allotment paid-in capital increase to Mutual Growth Investment Association No. 1 (Mutual Growth Association) on the 25th. The funds for the paid-in capital increase are to be raised by an unlisted Fintech company, P, contributing capital to the Mutual Growth Association.
GeneOne Life Science is a chronically loss-making company. It has kept the unusual record of 21 straight years of losses from 2004 to 2024. As it posted a consolidated operating loss of 30 billion won through the third quarter last year, the consecutive loss record is likely to extend to 22 years. On top of that, cash and cash equivalents are down to about 1 billion won, scraping the bottom.
To break its cash crunch and normalize management, GeneOne Life Science has pursued a paid-in capital increase since September last year. But even that has not been easy. With the payer and deadline for the capital increase changing several times, the payment has not been made for nearly half a year.
The Mutual Growth Association, which took over management control after a dispute with former chief executive Park Young-geun, who had been GeneOne Life Science's major shareholder last year, stepped up as the payer for the capital increase, but with no money on hand, the likelihood of payment is unclear. To secure the funds for the paid-in capital increase, an additional capital contribution is needed. Initially, Exion Group, an existing association member, was to contribute about 9 billion won, but Exion Group fell through, apparently due to a cash crunch, and company P suddenly emerged late last year as a new contributor.
After company P's emergence, the payment date for the paid-in capital increase was pushed to on the 9th, and the size was adjusted from about 10 billion won to around 8 billion won. However, the payment was not made on the 9th either, and the payment date has been postponed again to the 25th.
Company P has not offered a clear position on its participation in the paid-in capital increase. When it appeared in GeneOne Life Science's capital increase filing on Dec. 23 last year, it maintained that it had nothing to do with the paid-in capital increase. It said investment in GeneOne Life Science was unrelated to it and that it did not even know about the filing.
But it recently shifted its stance and effectively acknowledged the question of whether it would participate. Still, it avoided giving a definite answer on concrete payment plans.
The head of company P recently said, "This filing reflects a situation that is a bit different from last time," and added, "Whether we will participate in the paid-in capital increase is such an important matter that it is difficult to comment separately."
As the payment for the paid-in capital increase dragged on, GeneOne Life Science's ownership structure also changed. Former top shareholder Park Young-geun sold shares on the open market, making the Mutual Growth Association the new largest shareholder. From the Mutual Growth Association's perspective, after securing management control through a dispute with Park in August last year, it has effectively become the largest shareholder even without a paid-in capital increase.
A capital market industry official said, "Although the Mutual Growth Association has become the largest shareholder, with the current equity alone it will be hard to maintain stable control, so a paid-in capital increase is necessary," but added, "Given GeneOne Life Science's current financial condition and the status of its pipeline, normalization of management does not look easy with just an 8 billion won capital increase."