Court Orders Kolon and Honorary Chairman Woongyeol Lee to Pay 664 Million Won in Damages to Inbosa Patients

The court has found Woongyeol Lee, Honorary Chairman of Kolon Group, and others liable for damages in a lawsuit filed by patients who received the osteoarthritis gene therapy drug, Inbosa K Injection (Inbosa).

Former Kolon Group Chairman Woongyul Lee, who was indicted on charges including involvement in the manipulation of components in the Invossa-K injection (Invossa), is attending the first trial held on December 9, 2020, at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

According to the legal community on July 29, the Civil Agreement Division 29 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Ko Seung-il) partially ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a damages lawsuit filed by 18 people, including patients who were administered Inbosa and the bereaved families, against Honorary Chairman Lee, Kolon Life Science, Kolon TissueGene, and former Kolon Life Science CEO Woo-Suk Lee.

The court found that the defendants were jointly liable to compensate the patients and their families a total of approximately 664 million won. Surviving patients were awarded 30 million won each in damages, while the deceased patient's family was awarded 50 million won. The court also recognized liability for an additional 14 million won by the prescribing physician and the relevant medical foundation for the deceased patient.

The judges determined that Inbosa had a manufacturing defect or lacked the safety reasonably expected, thus establishing liability for damages under the Product Liability Act. They further stated that labeling Inbosa as “cartilage-derived cells” when this did not reflect reality constitutes liability under the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising, and that selling a drug different from what was approved constitutes liability under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.

“Despite being aware of the defects in Inbosa, the defendant companies, former CEO Lee, and Honorary Chairman Lee manufactured and distributed the drug,” the court stated, adding that, “They are responsible for compensating the patients and the deceased for the damages suffered.”

The plaintiffs comprise 15 patients who received Inbosa between April 2018 and March 2019, and the families of 3 deceased patients. They claimed damages citing that the manufacturing defects in Inbosa resulted in persistent pain and the need for long-term follow-up treatment, and that some patients even developed cancer.

Meanwhile, Honorary Chairman Lee and former CEO Lee were acquitted at the appellate court last February in a criminal case related to sales of Inbosa with manipulated ingredients, after the prosecution chose not to appeal, making the acquittal final.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.