Joining Santen Korea in 2001, Lee Han-Woong was involved in the establishment of Santen Korea. His journey began with roles in marketing and management control. Following positions as head of a business division and Vice President, he became CEO in 2017. Named one of Korea’s “100 Most Respected CEOs” in 2025.
Santen Korea has achieved steady growth since its establishment in 2000, becoming one of Santen's key markets in Asia. Today, the company leads Korea's ophthalmology market with an overall market share of 16%*1, and commands a significant 39%*2 share of the glaucoma segment.
The driving force behind this growth has been Lee Han-Woong, who was involved in the creation of Santen Korea and currently serves as its CEO. Not only has he established market leadership through a patient-centric strategy, but he has also built a flexible, highly productive organization, spearheading Santen Korea’s business expansion. We sat down with Lee Han-Woong to learn more about Santen Korea's 25-year journey, its business strategy, and goals for the future.
Achieving the top share*¹ of Korea's ophthalmology sector with a growth strategy tailored to local market characteristics
I have been working in the pharmaceutical industry since 1988, and from 1995, I was responsible for marketing Japanese ophthalmic products at another company. Even back then, I was aware of Santen's reputation for quality products. Combined with a personal desire to establish my career in a specialized field, I was fortunate to be involved in the launch of Santen Korea. Currently, in addition to serving as the head of Santen Korea, I am also Deputy Head of Asia*3.
Like Japan, Korea is graying society characterized by a rapidly aging population. People aged 65 and older accounted for 19.2% of the population in 2024, and estimates suggest that this share will grow to more than 40% by 2050*4—which is even higher than the forecast for Japan. Alongside the aging population, eye diseases such as dry eye, glaucoma, and retinal disorders have become common problems for many people. At the same time, Koreans have a strong interest in health and medical care, and patients tend to be proactive when making treatment choices—a characteristic that has contributed to the popularity of preservative-free single-dose (disposable) products, which currently account for 30-40%*5 of the ophthalmic market.
Santen Korea has been able to continuously introduce new products because it understands the needs of the Korean market. And while the baseline for every pharmaceutical company is the ability to swiftly deliver high-value-added treatments to patients, I’m confident in saying that by executing on this principle day after day, year after year, Santen Korea has been able to achieve steady growth.
Up until 2010, we were only handling two to three products, but this has now increased to approximately 30 products. In 2013, we collaborated with a Korean pharmaceutical company to jointly develop and launch a single-dose product for dry eye. In 2025, we entered into an agreement with Novartis for exclusive rights to market and distribute its retinal disease treatment products in Korea, enabling us to directly contribute to patients in the retinal disease field as well. Efforts like these have been driving our growth, and today the Korea business accounts for approximately 50% of Santen’s sales in Asia.
Market differentiation through “Uniquely Santen” approach
Santen Korea shifted its focus toward establishing its own sales structure in 2010, coinciding with the launch of its glaucoma and ocular hypertension treatments, to pursue a more “Uniquely Santen” sales approach. The organizational structure and investments made to achieve this goal were a major turning point that shaped Santen Korea into what it is today. Although we faced some short-term challenges when we first started distributing our products, expanding our portfolio allowed us to stabilize the business by 2016.
Santen Korea defines “Uniquely Santen” as leveraging deep expertise and high-value-added information to build strong relationships of trust with healthcare professionals in order to deliver solutions to patients. Our relentless pursuit of “Uniquely Santen,” including our direct sales structure, has established our credibility among healthcare professionals and led to increased market share.
Among our products, those delivering exceptional usability and high patient satisfaction are proposed in combinations tailored to market characteristics. Santen Korea’s sincere and attentive communication style is appreciated by Korean healthcare professionals, who often remark, “That’s uniquely Santen.” Here’s a good example: a lot of pharmaceutical companies hold conferences and symposia, but Santen's approach—which involves detailed consultations before and after each event and a commitment to accurately conveying medical information to participants—sets us apart from competitors and drives differentiation in the market.
Our pursuit of this “Uniquely Santen” approach led to the development of Patient Journey Solutions. “Patient Journey” refers to the entire process that every patient experiences—from disease awareness and diagnosis through treatment and recovery. Driven by our desire to contribute to patients during every stage of this journey, we implemented an organizational restructuring in 2024; the new structure allows us to seamlessly integrate information provision to healthcare professionals, new product development, marketing activities, and mid- to long-term domain strategies.
A workplace offering opportunities for growth and challenge builds a strong organization
Santen Korea has been recognized as a Great Place to Work® in Korea for two consecutive years—2025 and 2026. This achievement is not simply the result of focusing on employee satisfaction. I may have high expectations at work, but that comes from my belief that our work at Santen is most impactful when we collaborate toward the same goals. I continuously encourage our employees to consider the value their activities deliver to patients.
An organization built on individuals who faithfully carry out their roles and responsibilities is a strong organization. For this reason, we actively invest in helping employees grow and perform their roles. Some examples of the initiatives we have been implementing at Santen Korea include a career immersion program that allows employees to experience other departments, exchanges and assignments at overseas locations to promote employee growth, and a reverse mentoring program that allows junior staff to provide feedback to senior staff. We are also considering job rotations across therapeutic domains in the belief that equipping employees with knowledge across all fields will allow them to provide healthcare professionals with even more valuable information.
Santen Korea began with just four employees, but has now grown into an organization of more than 100 people. I attribute our development into an organization with unique capabilities and competitiveness to the growth of each and every employee. I believe that employee growth is the critical factor for an organization seeking to evolve and attain unparalleled competitiveness, which is why I focus on providing opportunities for challenge and growth, and on boosting employee motivation. The company and its employees should grow together—that’s my vision.
To be a trusted presence among patients and the ophthalmic community worldwide
My long-standing goal is to make Santen Korea a company that continues to be trusted and needed by patients and the ophthalmic healthcare community. To achieve this, we must deliver value to more patients through the sustainable development of our business. We will begin by strengthening our business foundation to achieve the goals of our 2025-2029 Medium-Term Management Plan, expanding our business while embracing new growth opportunities.
For Santen Korea to continue growing over the next decade and beyond, I consider it my mission to continue introducing products that meet patient needs and to build a stable organization. Through continuous challenges and growth, I hope to contribute to realizing “Happiness with Vision” for patients.
- Source: Copyright © 2026 IQVIA. IQVIA MIDAS 2024 Q4MAT, Santen analysis based on IQVIA data. Reprinted with permission. (Excluding retinal segment)
- Source: Copyright © 2026 IQVIA. IQVIA MIDAS 2024 Q4MAT, Santen analysis based on IQVIA data. Reprinted with permission.
- Asia business countries/regions: Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia
- 2024 Elderly Statistics https://www.kostat.go.kr/board.es?act=view&bid=10820&list_no=432917&mid=a10301010000
- Source: Copyright © 2026 IQVIA. IQVIA MIDAS 2024 Q4MAT, Santen analysis based on IQVIA data. Reprinted with permission. Unit basis for eyedrop formulation
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