Min Chul Park
About Min Chul Park
Independent director since December 2022 with a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical bioscience from Seoul National University; background spans drug target discovery, assay development, and drug candidate optimization in academia and industry. Currently an Assistant Professor at Inje University’s College of Pharmacy; previously CEO/Director of Curebio Therapeutics (2020–2022), Executive VP/CTO/Director at Curebio (2017–2022), and earlier CEO/Director at Neomics in Seoul, Korea; co‑founder and current Scientific Advisory Board member at TME Therapeutics . The board has affirmatively determined all current directors other than the CEO are independent under Nasdaq rules, which includes Dr. Park .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curebio Therapeutics (Seoul) | CEO and Director | Oct 2020 – Apr 2022 | Led financing, co‑development agreements with 3 pharma companies, and one in‑license deal; developed cosmetic peptides; co‑developed antibodies and diagnostics . |
| Curebio (merged entity) | Executive VP, CTO, and Director | Aug 2017 – Mar 2022 | Oversaw drug development technologies; business development . |
| Korea University, Dept. of Pharmacy | Adjunct Professor | Mar 2019 – Feb 2022 | Academic role in pharmaceutical sciences . |
| Neomics Co. (Seoul) | CEO and Director | Until 2017 | Expanded contract experiment and biomaterial business; led merger of Neomics with Curebio and Bumyoung Bio . |
| Medicinal Bioconvergence Research Center, Seoul National University | Senior Research Associate | Early career | Led out‑licensing for exosome isolation device and anti‑tumorigenic peptide deals . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inje University College of Pharmacy | Assistant Professor | Current | Academic appointment . |
| TME Therapeutics, Co. | Co‑founder; Scientific Advisory Board | Current | External biotech advisory role . |
Board Governance
- Independence: Independent director under Nasdaq rules (all directors other than the CEO are independent) .
- Committees and chairs (as of Apr 17, 2025):
- Audit: Freitag (Chair); members Freitag, Sapirstein .
- Compensation: Finizio (Chair); members Finizio, Sapirstein, Park .
- Nominating & Corporate Governance: Sapirstein (Chair); members Freitag, Park, Sapirstein .
- Attendance: Board met 4 times in 2024; each director attended at least 75% of board/committee meetings; independent directors held at least two executive sessions in 2024 .
- Lead Independent Director: None; CEO (Stephen Glover) also serves as Chair; board cites small size and active independent director participation; continues to evaluate leadership structure .
- Committee activity: Nominating & Governance held one meeting and acted by unanimous written consent once in 2024 .
- Compensation committee advisors: Committee may retain advisers; independence factors considered but independence not required; no compensation committee interlocks reported for 2024 .
- Indemnification: The company maintains indemnification agreements with each director .
Fixed Compensation (Non‑Employee Director – 2024)
| Component | Amount (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Board retainer (cash) | $40,000 | Standard for non‑employee directors . |
| Compensation Committee member fee | $7,500 | Member (non‑chair) . |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance member fee | $4,000 | Member (non‑chair) . |
| Option/Equity awards | $0 | No option awards recorded for 2024 . |
| Total cash fees (2024) | $51,500 | As disclosed for Min Chul Park . |
Director cash compensation is structured with additional fees for committee service; chair premiums exist but Park is not a chair .
Performance Compensation
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Equity grants (2024) | None disclosed for Park; option awards $0 . |
| Plan guardrails (Omnibus 2022 Plan) | No single‑trigger acceleration; clawback/recovery aligned with Dodd‑Frank; no repricing without stockholder approval; director award cap $250,000 per year ($500,000 initial year) . |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Type | Company | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public company boards | — | — | No public company directorships for Park disclosed in the proxy biography . |
| Private/Academic | TME Therapeutics | Scientific Advisory Board | Current external role . |
| Private/Academic | Inje University | Assistant Professor | Current academic role . |
| Committee interlocks | — | — | No compensation committee interlocks reported for 2024 . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Drug development and translational science: target discovery, assay development, candidate optimization; molecular and cellular biology .
- Business development/transactions: Led financing, co‑development and in‑license deals; multiple out‑licensing transactions at Seoul National University center .
- Academic credentials: Ph.D. in pharmaceutical bioscience (Seoul National University, Dept. of Pharmacy) .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Min Chul Park, Ph.D. | 203 | <1% | Based on 3,619,456 shares outstanding as of Apr 15, 2025; “<1%” indicated by company . |
- Hedging & pledging: Company policy prohibits short sales, options/derivatives, and hedging; prohibits margin purchases and pledging, with a narrow exception for non‑margin loan pledges requiring CFO approval and demonstrable capacity to repay without resort to pledged securities .
- Ownership guidelines: No director stock ownership guideline disclosed in the retrieved materials.
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independent director with relevant biotech R&D and deal‑making experience serving on Compensation and Nominating & Governance committees—positions aligned with his background .
- Board and committee engagement: met at least 75% attendance threshold; independent‑only executive sessions at least twice in 2024, supporting independent oversight .
- Compensation structure for directors is modest, cash‑based, and includes clear committee fee differentials; equity plan includes shareholder‑friendly features (no single‑trigger acceleration, clawback policy, no repricing) .
-
Risk flags and watch items
- Low ownership alignment: Park beneficially owns 203 shares (<1%), signaling limited “skin‑in‑the‑game” absent ongoing equity grants; monitor for future equity awards to directors to strengthen alignment .
- Combined CEO/Chair and no lead independent director could concentrate power; board cites small size and active independent participation as mitigants—continue to monitor board refreshment and leadership structure evaluations .
- Pledging exception: While hedging is prohibited, an exception permits pledging with CFO approval for non‑margin loans; ensure no pledging by directors occurs under this exception to avoid misalignment risk .
- Related‑party oversight relies on audit committee policy; maintain scrutiny though no disqualifying relationships for independent directors were identified by the board .
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Net view: Park appears to be an independent, technically qualified director active on key governance and compensation committees, but with low current equity ownership; structural governance risk stems from combined CEO/Chair without a lead independent director, partially mitigated by independent executive sessions and a small, majority‑independent board .