Samsung Biologics Replaces CFO and R&D Head... Will It Find New Momentum This Year?

[Korea Financial Times, Kim Nayoung] "First, best, and largest"... these were the adjectives that followed Samsung Biologics (Samsung Bio) last year.

In 2023, Samsung Bio became the first company in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry to surpass KRW 4 trillion in annual revenue. Its operating profit also exceeded KRW 1 trillion, setting a new record in the market.

Moreover, the company secured the world's largest CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organization) production capacity at 604,000 liters. These achievements were driven by an aggressive expansion strategy that emphasized a significant technological and operational lead.
Now, having established itself as an industry leader within just 14 years of its founding, Samsung Bio is seeking new momentum this year. This comes after a major leadership shake-up in two of its core areas: finance and research & development (R&D).

First CFO Change in a Decade

According to an report by this publication on the 10th, Samsung Biologics recently appointed Vice President Yoo Seung-ho as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), replacing Vice President Kim Dong-joong. This marks the company’s first CFO change in approximately ten years, since 2014.

Born in 1968, Yoo is a graduate of Yonsei University and has built his career managing corporate operations at Samsung Electronics’ headquarters and its European subsidiary in France. He entered the biotech industry in late 2023 when he was transferred to Samsung Biologics as the Head of Business Management. After about a year in that role, he was promoted to CFO in December 2023, taking responsibility for the company’s financial operations.

One reason for the CFO replacement is believed to be the embezzlement and accounting fraud allegations that had plagued the former CFO, Kim. In October 2020, Kim was indicted on charges of embezzling approximately KRW 4.7 billion during Samsung Biologics' IPO process. He was also accused of destroying evidence to cover up the company’s alleged accounting fraud. However, on the 3rd, Kim was acquitted in the second trial, effectively clearing his name of the fraud allegations after nearly four years.

Despite the acquittal, Kim stepped down as CFO and was reassigned to lead Samsung Biologics’ Shared Growth Cooperation Center, where he will be responsible for enhancing supplier capabilities and managing business risks.

As the new CFO, Yoo is expected to play a key role in the company’s investment in expanding production capacity. In the CDMO industry, production capacity directly impacts contract acquisition competitiveness—increasing production capacity leads to higher revenue potential. This is why Samsung Biologics has been aggressively pursuing an "extreme technological gap" strategy.

To support this, Yoo will also need to help secure land for the company’s planned third campus. Samsung Biologics aims to complete its second campus (Plants 5-8) by 2032, increasing its production capacity to 1.324 million liters, with an additional third campus in the pipeline.

However, Samsung Biologics has faced setbacks in securing land. In 2023, the company twice failed in its bids for an 187,827-square-meter site in Songdo, Incheon, worth KRW 224.8 billion. It now needs to find a new location.

New Leadership at the Bio Research Center

The Bio Research Center, the company’s R&D hub, has also undergone a leadership change. Following the first director, Jung Nam-jin, the center will now be led by Vice President Min Ho-sung starting this year.

Established in July 2022, the Bio Research Center operates under the direct supervision of the CEO and focuses on securing business opportunities in CDMO by developing platform technologies for antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) and messenger RNA (mRNA).

Min has a long history with Samsung.

He built his career at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology and the New Business Development Team before moving to Samsung Bioepis, where he oversaw manufacturing and biosimilar process development. In 2021, he left Samsung and became the CEO of the Korean subsidiary of GenScript, a global CDMO company. However, in August 2023, he returned to Samsung Biologics as head of the CDO (contract development organization) Development Center. As of this year, he now also serves as the head of the Bio Research Center.

Min is expected to lead the company’s overall R&D efforts and spearhead research into new platform technologies. In particular, he is likely to focus on securing capabilities to handle ADC finished products.

In December 2024, Samsung Biologics completed the construction of an ADC production facility, featuring a 500-liter linker conjugation reactor and a single purification line.

Additionally, in February 2024, Samsung Biologics signed a CDO contract with Ligachem Biosciences to develop an ADC therapeutic project.

A Samsung Biologics representative emphasized, "We will provide an optimized 'one-stop service' that enables everything from cell line development to ADC drug substance (DS) production within just 12 months."

Kim Nayoung, Korea Finacial Times (steaming@fntimes.com)