It is expected that the domestic pharmaceutical company Dongkook Pharmaceutical(086450) will surpass 1 trillion won in annual sales this year. It would be the best performance in 58 years since its founding. Not only pharmaceuticals such as the wound treatment Madecassol and the gum medicine Insadol, but also the healthcare institutional sector is continuing to grow.
Amid this, the third-generation Oner has been promoted to director at Dongkook Pharmaceutical and is receiving full-fledged management training. The person is said to be learning finance and planning operations while overseeing the new cosmetics business. In business circles, the assessment is that "the person will take on a role in finding mid- to long-term growth engines following the father."
◇ Dongkook Pharmaceutical Oner, third generation, overseeing finance and new businesses
Dongkook Pharmaceutical was founded in 1968 by the late honorary chairman Kwon Dong-il. After Honorary Chairman Kwon died in 2001, his son, Chairman Kwon Gi-beom, rose to executive vice president the following year and moved to the forefront of management at a young age in his 30s. Kwon studied social welfare at Yonsei University and earned an MBA from the University of Denver. He was promoted to president in 2005 and chairman in 2022.
Chairman Kwon's son, Director Kwon Byung-hun, also took a similar path, being promoted in March this year from head of the finance planning office to executive (director level). Born in 1995, Kwon studied economics and policy at Cornell University in the United States and worked at Boston Consulting Group before joining Dongkook Pharmaceutical in 2024. When Dongkook Pharmaceutical acquired Rebom Cosmetics that year, Kwon invested 1.2 billion won to secure 2.2% equity. A Dongkook Pharmaceutical official said, "Serving as an internal director at Rebom Cosmetics, Kwon is involved in major decision-making," adding, "Kwon oversees new businesses and finance planning."
The current group governance structure runs from Chairman Kwon → DK&Com → Dongkook Pharmaceutical → Dong Kook Lifescience(303810), and so on. As of the first quarter of this year, Chairman Kwon holds 50.8% equity in DK&Com. Director Kwon is also said to hold a small amount of DK&Com equity. Including them, the equity held by related parties is 100%.
DK&Com holds 20.62% equity in Dongkook Pharmaceutical and 7.55% equity in Dong Kook Lifescience. Dongkook Pharmaceutical also holds 39.5% equity in Dong Kook Lifescience. Chairman Kwon holds equity in Dongkook Pharmaceutical (19.17%) and Dong Kook Lifescience (11.11%). Director Kwon also holds equity in Dongkook Pharmaceutical (0.18%) and Dong Kook Lifescience (3.34%).
Business circles view that it will take time for third-generation succession because Director Kwon's equity holdings are still small. In addition, Chairman Kwon's mother, Yoon Soon-ja (0.28%), and his younger sibling, Kwon Jae-beom (2.96%), also hold equity in Dongkook Pharmaceutical.
◇ Cosmetics push and pharmaceuticals pull… record sales expected
In the first quarter of this year, Dongkook Pharmaceutical posted consolidated sales of 251 billion won and operating profit of 27.3 billion won. Sales rose 12% and operating profit 8% from the same period last year. Following sales in the 900 billion won range last year, the company is expected to reach 1 trillion won in sales this year if this trend continues.
What led the improvement was the healthcare business, including cosmetics and health foods. First-quarter healthcare sales this year were 99.8 billion won, up 26% from the same period last year. Dongkook Pharmaceutical entered the cosmetics business in earnest in 2015 and launched the Centellian24 brand. Its flagship product is Madeca Cream, made with the active ingredient of Madecassol. The company said, "Centellian24's global exports increased 332% from the same period last year."
Over-the-counter medicines such as Insadol and the venous circulation drug Cessia also saw sales increase. In the first quarter of this year, over-the-counter drug sales were 44.5 billion won, and prescription drug sales were 53.7 billion won. They rose 6% and 8%, respectively, from the same period last year. The company said it is diversifying its business while securing revenue stably.
Dongkook Pharmaceutical plans to strengthen competitiveness with drug delivery technologies. These include microspheres, which stably release a drug in the body over several months, and liposomes, which precisely deliver nano-sized drugs and reduce toxicity.