On March 3rd, Kim Jae-kyo, who was appointed as the new head of Hanmi Science, the holding company of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group, marks 100 days in office. As the group's first professional CEO, he is accelerating management reform by establishing a strategic organization centered on the holding company and reorganizing the hierarchical system.
However, the industry is focused on whether the management improvements will lead to substantial results, including technology transfers of new drug candidates. A full evaluation of Kim's leadership is expected to begin in the second half of the year.
According to the industry on the 8th, the most noticeable change under Kim's leadership is the reorganization of the hierarchical system. Hanmi Group has eliminated the single title 'Pro,' which had been in use since 2023, and has standardized employee titles as 'manager,' while internally categorizing them into four levels: junior, senior, responsible, and chief to reflect experience and expertise. A Hanmi Group official noted, "There were many opinions that the single title system caused confusion in communication, and we reflected internal opinions several times to establish the new system."
In the industry, the reorganization is being evaluated as a pursuit of a horizontal culture while clarifying responsibilities and authority within the organization. On the other hand, there are concerns that increased pressure for performance and deepening discrimination among experience levels could act as factors for internal conflict.
An industry official said, "Recently, traditional pharmaceutical companies are increasingly adopting a unified title or changing to English like foreign companies or IT corporations, but the hierarchical system introduced by Hanmi Group does not align with recent trends," adding, "It seems that Kim Jae-kyo's background in the conservative securities industry reflects a tendency to solidify the organization more tightly."
Kim Jae-kyo was appointed as the CEO of Hanmi Science at the shareholders' meeting on March 26th. Having worked at Yuhan Corporation and MERITZ Securities, Kim is regarded as a finance and biotechnology expert. He is currently focused on establishing a strategic system centered around the holding company and innovating the organizational culture.
Another area that Kim is actively engaging in is the function of the holding company. Until recently, Hanmi Science had only served as an investment holding company, but Kim has attempted to pivot by establishing an open strategy headquarters that brings in external technologies, capital, and talent.
The newly established organization is the 'Innovation Headquarters.' It aims to move away from the existing closed internal research and development system and serve as a hub that connects with external partners while positioning itself as the focal point for new business across the group.
The Innovation Headquarters consists of the 'Connect & Development Strategy Team,' the 'Launching & Development Strategy Team,' and the 'IP Team.' Baek Myung-ho, Maeng Ji-woong, and Han Ji-yeon, respectively, lead the teams. They are responsible for open innovation, including finding promising external biotechnology companies and technologies, as well as strategies related to technology transfers and approvals.
Kim's key challenge is to ensure that Hanmi Pharmaceutical's research and development center remains steadfast and strengthening. Since the research and development capability is central to the group's competitiveness, the future outcome largely depends on whether the open innovation organization complements this capability or leads to redundancy and conflict. Internally, there are suggestions that "it is more important for the Innovation Headquarters to integrate internal capabilities with the pipeline than just bringing in technology."
The industry is paying attention to whether Kim can restore the honor of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, which was known as a 'fine drug development house.' It is analyzed that concrete results must follow, including the technology transfer of ongoing candidates for obesity, metabolic-associated steatosis liver disease (MASH) drugs, for the changes under Kim Jae-kyo to be proven as innovations.
An industry official noted, "The actual criteria for evaluation will hinge on whether the holding company's strategic function has been strengthened or the organizational culture reformed, as well as what new drugs have been successfully transferred in technology and led to global expansion," adding, "The effectiveness of the strategy to connect technologies and pipelines with external entities will be put to the test in the second half of this year."
Since taking office, Kim has instituted a system of meeting every morning with representatives and employees of subsidiaries, including Hanmi Pharmaceutical, to review current issues and strategies. Recently, he also acquired 1,000 shares of Hanmi Science. Attention is focused on whether his reform efforts will yield short-term results or lead to sustainable innovations.