Two Kolon Life Science executives have been acquitted of tampering with a key ingredient in a gene therapy drug and submitting a fraudulent report to authorities.

The Seoul Central District Court on Friday found the two executives surnamed Cho and Kim not guilty of obstruction of justice and fraud-related charges in a case involving Invossa, a gene therapy drug for osteoarthritis. 

However the court separately handed down a fine of five million won to Cho for bribing an official at the Food and Drug Safety Ministry.

While acknowledging the company submitted some false data, the court said the ministry may have also failed in verifying the documents during the drug's approval process. 

Invossa obtained regulatory approval in 2017 but had it revoked in 2019. It came to light that a key ingredient derived from a kidney cell rather than cartilage, as was stated in the documentation submitted for approval.