Dong-A Socio Holdings and Dong-A ST on the 26th each held their annual general shareholders' meetings and passed all key agenda items as originally proposed, including approval of financial statements, appointment of directors, and amendments to the articles of incorporation.
Dong-A Socio Holdings held its 78th annual general shareholders' meeting that day at Building N of its headquarters in Dongdaemun District, Seoul, and resolved items including approval of financial statements, partial amendments to the articles of incorporation, appointment of directors and audit committee members, and approval of the limit on directors' remuneration.
The company reported that last year, on a consolidation basis, it posted 1.4298 trillion won in revenue and 97.8 billion won in operating profit. Those figures were up 7.2% and 19.1%, respectively, from a year earlier.
In line with revisions to the Commercial Act, the articles of incorporation were updated to change the title of outside director to "independent director," among other adjustments. Lee Dae-woo, head of corporate planning, was newly appointed as an inside director, and Jin Young-won, a professor at Seoul National University College of Pharmacy, joined as an outside director. Jung Young-jin, a partner attorney at Law Firm Hyun, was appointed as an outside director who will serve on the audit committee.
Dividends of 1,000 won in cash and 0.03 share per common share were approved. The dividends are tax-exempt, funded by resources secured through a reduction of the capital surplus.
Dong-A ST also held its 13th annual general shareholders' meeting the same day in the auditorium on the 7th floor of its headquarters in Dongdaemun District, Seoul, and resolved six agenda items, including approval of financial statements, amendments to the articles of incorporation, reduction of capital surplus and transfer to retained earnings, and appointment of directors.
Dong-A ST reported that last year, on a separate basis, it recorded 745.1 billion won in revenue and 27.5 billion won in operating profit. It also finalized cash dividends of 700 won per common share and a stock dividend of 0.05 share.
The company said it will reduce 30 billion won of capital surplus and transfer it to retained earnings to expand shareholder returns and secure resources for tax-exempt dividends.
Through amendments to the articles of incorporation, the title of outside director was changed to independent director, and the number of separately appointed audit committee members was increased from one to two. As part of disability employment and ESG management, the operation of a car wash related to the "Happy Car Wash" initiative was also added to the business purposes.
Kim Sang-woon, head of management planning and administration, and Lim Jin-soon, head of manufacturing, were newly appointed as inside directors, and Shin Dong-yoon, a professor at Gachon University College of Pharmacy, joined as an outside director. Jang Byung-won, an advisor at Yoon & Yang LLC, was reappointed as an outside director who will serve on the audit committee.
Dong-A Socio Holdings CEO Kim Min-young said, "We will make research and development a core growth pillar for the group and enhance corporate value through balanced capital allocation between a stable business base and investments for future growth."
Dong-A ST President Chung Jae-hoon said, "We will push to commercialize research and development outcomes by reshaping our pipeline around biosimilars and incrementally modified drugs and by expanding investment in Digital Healthcare."