"It seems Chairman Lim Jong-yoon of Cory Group (co-CEO of Beijing Hanmi Pharmaceutical) was under considerable financial strain. I only bought the equity at the request of a close aide to Chairman Lim."
Chairman Lim Jong-yoon is the eldest son of the late founder of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Chairman Lim Sung-ki, and earlier clashed with the mother and daughter during the Oner family's management control dispute. Cory Group is his private company.
Shin Dong-kuk, chairman of Hanyang Precision Co. and the largest shareholder of the Hanmi Pharmaceutical group, held a press briefing at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan-gu on the 24th and stated accordingly about the background to Hanmi Science's disclosure that day of Chairman Shin's off-market purchase of 4,410,032 shares (6.45%).
That morning, Hanmi Science disclosed that, under a stock purchase agreement Chairman Shin Dong-kuk signed on the 13th, he would acquire 4,410,032 voting shares from Cory Pohang Co., Ltd. and five others through an off-market purchase.
According to the industry, Chairman Lim Jong-yoon had previously transferred his equity to Cory Pohang. After that, through Cory Pohang last year, he provided Hanmi Science shares as collateral to Curious Science, a special purpose company (SPC) established by the private equity fund (PEF) Curious, and raised 130 billion won in funds. The contract period between Cory Pohang and Curious Science is four years.
In effect, Chairman Shin bought back the Hanmi Science shares that Chairman Lim had provided as collateral to raise funds.
In particular, Chairman Shin decided to borrow funds of about 200 billion won to purchase the equity, prompting some in the market to question whether Shin was breaking the existing four-party alliance front and reigniting the management control dispute together with Chairman Lim.
Chairman Shin drew a line under that interpretation. Acknowledging some conflict regarding the four-party alliance, Shin said, "The alliance will continue and must be maintained." He said, "As a major shareholder of Hanmi, I am more than anyone committed to Hanmi's growth, and Hanmi's future is bright."
Chairman Shin said, "It is true I borrowed, but I plan to repay through other financial assets I hold," adding, "In addition to Hanmi Science shares, there are assets that can be liquidated."
With this transaction, Chairman Shin's total equity stake rises to about 29.83%, strengthening his control.
Chairman Shin Dong-kuk, a junior from the hometown of the late Chairman Lim Sung-ki, has been buying shares of Hanmi Pharmaceutical and Hanmi Science in succession and, after Chairman Lim's death in 2020, emerged as the key figure determining the outcome of the Oner family's management control dispute sparked by inheritance tax issues.
At the onset of the management control dispute, Chairman Shin initially sided with the brothers (Lim Jong-yoon, co-CEO of Beijing Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and Lim Jong-hoon, inside director and president of Hanmi Pharmaceutical), then switched to the mother and daughter (Song Young-sook, chair of Hanmi Science, and Lim Ju-hyun, vice chair of Hanmi Science), forming a four-party alliance by signing a shareholder agreement with them and the private equity manager Ledefense Partners. The four-party alliance's agreement is known to end in 2029.