[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that real estate owned by Kang Se-chan, founder of Genencell, has been placed under provisional attachment. This follows a motion filed by Sejong Medical in court to seize the assets in its capacity as a creditor. The properties include the location housing the headquarters of M-Biome Therapeutics, where Kang serves as CEO. Furthermore, Kang’s private residence has also been attached at the request of Sejong Medical. Sejong Medical has also filed a lawsuit against Kang for the return of unjust enrichment.
It is confirmed that CEO Kang Se-chan purchased units 3XX and 19XX of the "U-Tower," a knowledge industry center located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in 2021. According to the corporate registry, unit 3XX was used as Genencell’s headquarters, and unit 19XX was used as the headquarters for M-Biome Therapeutics. Kang sold unit 3XX to Doowon Electronics in 2023, after which Genencell’s headquarters moved to unit 21XX-X of U-Tower. Unit 19XX remains under Kang's ownership, and the M-Biome Therapeutics headquarters is still located there.
Amid these developments, it has been confirmed that unit 19XX of U-Tower was placed under provisional attachment in February of this year following a request by Sejong Medical. In effect, Sejong Medical has placed attachments on both the company headquarters owned by the founder and his private residence.
Provisional attachment is a legal procedure that temporarily restricts a debtor from disposing of their assets to ensure the enforcement of a monetary claim. The existence of an attachment does not necessarily mean that Kang has borrowed money from Sejong Medical or that a debt has been finalized, as various financial relationships—such as sales proceeds, promissory notes, wages, or claims for damages—could be involved. However, it indicates that a dispute has arisen because Sejong Medical claims it is owed money by Kang. Sejong Medical has also filed a suit against Kang for the return of unjust enrichment (Related article: Sejong Medical files lawsuit against Genencell founder Kang Se-chan for return of unjust enrichment).
Sejong Medical filed a complaint against Kang Se-chan for fraud in November of last year. Genencell, founded by Kang, previously sought to develop a COVID-19 treatment and received investment from Sejong Medical during that process. However, the treatment was never developed, and Kang was sentenced to three years in prison with a five-year probation for submitting false data during the clinical trial application process. The appeal is currently underway. He also faces allegations of lobbying by using former Justice Minister candidate Kim Seung-won to secure clinical trial approval.
Regarding these controversies, Kang Se-chan refuted the claims on CBS’s "Park Sung-tae’s News Show" on September 9, stating, "Sejong Medical failed to fulfill its duties or cooperation as a major shareholder, and their own failed cancer drug clinical trials and reckless investments led to their delisting. Now that these events align, they are shifting the blame onto Genencell."
Meanwhile, M-Biome Therapeutics, where Kang currently serves as CEO, is a company that spun off from the Biomedical Research Center affiliated with Kyung Hee University. According to the patent information service Kipris, the list of inventors for the patent "Novel strain having antibacterial activity against Candida albicans and use thereof," filed by M-Biome Therapeutics, includes Kang and an individual named Yang Soo-jin. Yang is suspected of acting as a broker in the process of Genencell lobbying former candidate Kim Seung-won for its COVID-19 treatment clinical trials.