Home > Business > Industry

Celltrion chairman says firm safe from global instability at shareholder meeting

Published: 24 Mar. 2026, 18:08

Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion, speaks at the general shareholders meeting at Songdo Conventia in Incheon on March 24. [YONHAP]

Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion Group, returned as chair of the biopharmaceutical's general shareholder meeting for the first time in 11 years on Tuesday, outlining plans to respond to global uncertainties and expand investment.

“Celltrion is not affected by the oil prices because we are an export-driven company. Because our business is focused on prescription drugs, we are not impacted by economic conditions either," Seo said while presiding over Celltrion's annual general meeting at Songdo Convensia in Incheon.

“Our main markets are developed market countries such as the United States, Europe and Japan, so there is little that would affect our sales," he said, highlighting that the company had taken a conservative approach when strategizing this year’s business plan.

“We structured our performance to improve across all four quarters,” Seo said. “First quarter results may not exceed market expectations, but the second quarter will be better than the first.”

Celltrion also unveiled plans to expand its Songdo campus in Incheon, investing 1.23 trillion won ($920 million). The company plans to build new plants with a total capacity of 180,000 liters (47,550 gallons) by 2030, applying advanced automation systems and smart factory technology. The facilities will produce not only existing flagship products but also next-generation biosimilars and new drugs.

“We plan to introduce robots to the new plants once robot prices fall below 70 million won per unit,” Seo said. “We are also looking to introduce robots to existing facilities.”

The company also decided to expand its production facility in Branchburg, New Jersey, from the initially planned 66,000 liters to 75,000 liters, citing growing demand for biopharmaceutical production in the United States. The facility will produce products for local supply and contract manufacture products for the company’s clients.

Seo Jung-jin, chairman of Celltrion, speaks at the general shareholders meeting at Songdo Conventia in Incheon on March 24. [YONHAP]

To enhance shareholder value, Celltrion approved a plan to retire treasury shares worth 1.71 trillion won. The company plans to cancel a total of 9.11 million shares next month, including 3 million shares initially intended for employee stock options.

Seo’s decision to directly chair the meeting is also seen as an effort to address a recent fatal accident at a facility in Incheon.

A worker fell about 3 meters (10 feet) while carrying out maintenance work on Sunday, according to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency and the Incheon Fire Department.

Labor authorities ordered a halt to operations at the site and are investigating the case. Police have requested an autopsy from the National Forensic Service and are examining whether safety regulations were followed.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM KYUNG-MI [[email protected]]