BioLogics files suit against FSC’s restrictions

Samsung BioLogics filed an administrative suit at the Seoul Administrative Court asking for the lifting of a set of measures taken by the country’s regulators on Nov. 14 following accounting failures at the biopharmaceutical unit of the Samsung Group, the company said on Wednesday.

BioLogics said it wants to “prove the legitimacy” of its accounting with the administrative suit. The company has also requested that orders from the Securities and Futures Commission of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) be lifted.

BioLogics was told to revise its financial statement, lay off its chief executive officer and chief financial officer and name an auditor.

The suit has been filed to minimize investor and customer concerns and to prevent irreparable harm that could come to the company, the company explained.

The filing by Samsung BioLogics came a week after the FSC asked the prosecution to begin a criminal investigation into the company’s accounting practices.

The securities commission of the FSC ruled on Nov. 14 that BioLogics had perpetrated an accounting fraud by intentionally excluding information regarding its joint-venture agreement with U.S. pharmaceutical firm Biogen in its public disclosures ahead of the company’s 2016 listing on Korea’s main board.

The commission fined the Samsung’s pharmaceutical arm 8 billion won ($7 million) and imposed a temporary suspension of stock trading. It also ordered a series of correction measures including the firing of CEOs and CFOs.

BioLogics insists that it followed International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in preparing its books.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun@joongang.co.kr]