Song Young-sook, chair of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, issued a formal apology over a recently raised sexual misconduct controversy and reiterated the company’s commitment to an independent, board-led governance structure under a professional management system.
In a statement released on the 5th, Song said that as a family member of the company’s founder and one of its major shareholders, she feels a heavy responsibility for failing to prevent the situation. She apologized “sincerely” to the person harmed by the sexual misconduct case and to employees who she said would have felt deep disappointment.
“Anyone, regardless of position, who engaged in inappropriate conduct must offer an apology and show a responsible attitude,” she said, adding that only “genuine remorse and reflection” can open a path back to unity.
Song also referred to the ongoing in-house placard protests by some employees. She said watching staff continue the daily demonstrations made her feel devastated, as it suggested her pledge to be a reliable support for their lives had not been fully kept.
She used the episode to restate Hanmi’s governance principles. “Hanmi is not a company that any one individual can run with full authority,” she said. She described the “advanced professional management system” promised to customers and shareholders as a principle designed to respect professional managers’ roles and authority and to ensure independent management centered on the board.
Song added that major shareholders should support sound direction rather than intervene directly in management, calling it a management philosophy emphasized by the late Chairman Lim Seong-gi and the path Hanmi should pursue.
On preventing a recurrence, she urged professional managers across group affiliates to overhaul systems and internal controls to make them fairer and more transparent.
Song said the group’s driving force is the unity of its employees, rooted in Lim’s spirit of “respect for humanity.” As group chair, she said, she will hold the line so the company can regain trust.
In a statement released on the 5th, Song said that as a family member of the company’s founder and one of its major shareholders, she feels a heavy responsibility for failing to prevent the situation. She apologized “sincerely” to the person harmed by the sexual misconduct case and to employees who she said would have felt deep disappointment.
“Anyone, regardless of position, who engaged in inappropriate conduct must offer an apology and show a responsible attitude,” she said, adding that only “genuine remorse and reflection” can open a path back to unity.
Song also referred to the ongoing in-house placard protests by some employees. She said watching staff continue the daily demonstrations made her feel devastated, as it suggested her pledge to be a reliable support for their lives had not been fully kept.
She used the episode to restate Hanmi’s governance principles. “Hanmi is not a company that any one individual can run with full authority,” she said. She described the “advanced professional management system” promised to customers and shareholders as a principle designed to respect professional managers’ roles and authority and to ensure independent management centered on the board.
Song added that major shareholders should support sound direction rather than intervene directly in management, calling it a management philosophy emphasized by the late Chairman Lim Seong-gi and the path Hanmi should pursue.
On preventing a recurrence, she urged professional managers across group affiliates to overhaul systems and internal controls to make them fairer and more transparent.
Song said the group’s driving force is the unity of its employees, rooted in Lim’s spirit of “respect for humanity.” As group chair, she said, she will hold the line so the company can regain trust.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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