Yoon Dong-han, the founder of Kolmar Korea and chairman of Kolmar Group, has filed a lawsuit demanding the return of shares in Kolmar Holdings that he had previously gifted to his eldest son, Yoon Sang-hyun, vice-chairman and CEO of Kolmar Holdings. On the 18th, Yoon announced that he had filed this lawsuit against Yoon Sang-hyun in the Seoul Central District Court on the 30th of last month.
The issue began with a conflict between Yoon Sang-hyun and his sister, Yoon Yeo-won, CEO of Kolmar BNH. Yoon Sang-hyun requested that he and Lee Seung-hwa, former vice-president of CJ CheilJedang, be appointed as internal directors at Kolmar BNH, a health functional food company. However, when CEO Yoon rejected the request, Yoon Sang-hyun filed a lawsuit with the court to convene a temporary general shareholders’ meeting.
When the sibling conflict became public, the founder, Yoon, intervened. At the 35th anniversary of Kolmar Group on the 15th of last month, Yoon stated, “The decision for Yoon Sang-hyun to oversee the cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors represented by Kolmar Holdings and Kolmar Korea, and for Yoon Yeo-won to manage the health functional food sector represented by Kolmar BNH, remains unchanged.” He added, “As the founder, I will actively mediate and arbitrate.” Despite his efforts, the situation escalated to the point of filing a lawsuit demanding the return of the shares from his son.
Yoon had announced his retirement from the management front in 2019, distributing his 28.18% shares in the holding company, Kolmar Holdings, to his son, daughter, and son-in-law. Currently, Yoon’s stake in Kolmar Holdings stands at just 5.59%, while Yoon Sang-hyun holds 31.75% of Kolmar Holdings, effectively controlling the group. Kolmar Holdings owns 44.63% of Kolmar BNH.
Yoon’s legal representative stated, “The lawsuit for the return of shares is a measure against Yoon Sang-hyun’s attempt to unilaterally change the agreed succession structure, abusing his authority as the largest shareholder.” He added, “If Yoon had known about this behavior, he would not have gifted the shares, and they should be returned immediately.” On June 10th, Kolmar BNH’s CEO, Yoon Yeo-won, filed an injunction to contest the legality of the temporary meeting convened by Yoon Sang-hyun, in response to the lawsuit he filed in the Daejeon District Court seeking permission to hold a temporary general shareholders’ meeting.