Hwang Sang-yeon, head of the HB Investment institutional sector private equity (PE) division, has been tapped as a new inside director at Hanmi Pharmaceutical.
Holding company Hanmi Science and Hanmi Pharmaceutical each held board meetings on the afternoon of the 12th and finalized the agenda for Hanmi Pharmaceutical's regular shareholders meeting to be held at the end of this month.
After the Hanmi Pharmaceutical board meeting held that afternoon at the Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Director A told a reporter, "The proposal to appoint Hwang Sang-yeon as a new director has been finalized as an agenda item for Hanmi Pharmaceutical's shareholders meeting."
Hwang, the nominee, is expected to be appointed as CEO after going through Hanmi Pharmaceutical's regular shareholders meeting and board of directors.
Hwang earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from Seoul National University, served as head of research at Mirae Asset Securities, chief investment officer (CIO) at Allianz Global Investors, and CEO of Chong Kun Dang Holdings, and in 2025 was recruited as head (vice president) of the newly established private equity fund (PEF) at venture capital firm HB Investment.
If Hwang's appointment is finalized through the shareholders meeting, Hanmi Pharmaceutical will adopt, for the first time since its founding, a CEO system hired from outside.
Until now, former and current heads of Hanmi Pharmaceutical (Lee Kwan-soon, Woo Jong-soo, Kwon Se-chang, Park Jae-hyun) were professional managers promoted from within who shared the management philosophy of the late founder, Chairman Lim Sung-ki, and led Hanmi Pharmaceutical's growth for decades.
Meanwhile, the current Hanmi Science board of directors consists of CEO Kim Jae-gyo; four inside directors (Lim Joo-hyun, Lim Jong-hoon, Shim Byung-hwa, Kim Sung-hoon); three outside directors (Choi Hyun-man, Kim Young-hoon, Shin Yong-sam); and two other non-executive directors (Bae Bo-kyung, Shin Dong-kuk), totaling 10 members. The structure is seen as favorable to major shareholder Shin Dong-kuk, chairman of Hanyang Precision Co.