This article was published on June 17, 2026 at 14:46 on Signal, the capital-markets compass.
Shin Dong-kuk, chairman of Hanyang Precision Chemical and the largest shareholder of Hanmi Science (008930), has been found to have explored acquiring additional shares through fundraising. Shin is the largest shareholder, holding nearly 30% of Hanmi Science, and is understood to be preparing for a voting contest at the next shareholders' meeting through additional share acquisition.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 17th, Shin's side recently pursued fundraising through domestic securities firms. The amount was about 300 billion won, reportedly aimed at acquiring the 5.09% stake held by his second son, President Lim Jong-hoon. However, the actual fundraising did not materialize as President Lim Jong-hoon refused to sell his stake.
According to securities industry sources, Lim Jong-ho assisted with the fundraising as an agent for Shin's side. The plan was for Lim Jong-ho to establish a special purpose company (SPC), attract funds, and use those funds to acquire President Lim Jong-hoon's stake. During the fundraising process, Shin planned to provide his personal shares as collateral.
Although Shin's acquisition of President Lim Jong-hoon's stake did not actually take place, the industry is paying attention to the fact that Shin continues to pursue expanding his stake. In February this year, Shin also purchased a total of 4,410,032 shares of Hanmi Science from Corepore and five others for 213.7 billion won. As a result, Chairman Shin Dong-kuk's personal stake grew to 22.88%. Adding the 6.95% Hanmi Science stake held by Shin's company, Hanyang Precision, brings Chairman Shin Dong-kuk's holdings to 29.83%, approaching 30%.
As Shin's stake nears 30%, the market is anticipating the possibility of another dispute. This is because even combining the stakes of Chairman Song Young-sook (3.84%), Vice Chairman Lim Joo-hyun (9.15%), Killington LLC (9.81%), and President Lim Jong-hoon (5.09%) totals only 27.89%, falling short of Shin's stake.
To date, Shin has been unable to exercise his voting rights individually due to a shareholders' agreement with Chairman Song Young-sook, Vice Chairman Lim Joo-hyun, and Ladefense Partners. Their shareholders' agreement reportedly stipulates board composition, joint exercise of voting rights, and tag-along rights, among others. This is why, despite his expanded stake, Shin finds it difficult to act unilaterally. However, the shareholders' agreement, centered on the joint exercise of voting rights, is estimated to have about one year remaining. Once the shareholders' agreement expires, there is a considerable chance that the management dispute within the Hanmi Pharmaceutical (128940) Group will resurface.
Shin reportedly grew distant from Chairman Song and Vice Chairman Lim Joo-hyun as he actively intervened in management. There were also instances where Shin overturned the company's major investment decisions. The Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group had decided to invest in the development project for the former Sheraton Palace Hotel site in Banpo-dong, Seoul. At the time, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Shim Byung-hwa, a vice president from Samsung Biologics, reviewed the project for about two to three months and submitted it as a board agenda item. The rationale behind the investment decision was to link it with a nursing care business at Catholic St. Mary's Hospital.
The vision the Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group envisioned at the time was a model of developing a silver town business on the site, linking medical care with St. Mary's Hospital, and supplying Hanmi Pharmaceutical's health functional foods. It is a business concept that many pharmaceutical companies are drawing up as their future business vision. The Hanmi Pharmaceutical board reportedly resolved to pursue the silver town business. After completing several months of profitability review, a consensus reportedly formed on the necessity of the business. It was also reportedly concluded that the Banpo-dong site investment itself was not bad from a real estate investment perspective.
Ultimately, the project fell through and became the catalyst for a penalty clause lawsuit underway worth 60 billion won. The lawsuit was filed against Shin by Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group Chairman Song Young-sook, Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group Vice Chairman Lim Joo-hyun, and Ladefense Partners.
