Korea's leading food conglomerate CJ Group said Thursday it has lodged a complaint with the police against an employee of a Samsung Group affiliate who covertly tailed its group chairman.
CJ Group said the 42-year-old identified by his family name of Kim, is suspected of following Lee Jay-hyun since late last week. The man was confronted while allegedly following the entrepreneur and found to work for Samsung C&T Corp., an indication that Samsung, the country's largest conglomerate, could be behind the surveillance.
The business group said it reported the Samsung employee to the police for possible obstruction of duties.
CJ Group's claim came amid a legal tussle among the two family-owned conglomerates over wealth inheritance.
On Feb. 14, Lee Maeng-hee, the eldest son of the Samsung Group founder, filed an inheritance suit against his younger brother and Samsung Electronics Co. chairman Lee Kun-hee, saying he should share in a large number of stocks he claimed the Samsung head secretly incorporated into his assets.
Lee Maeng-hee is the father of incumbent CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun.
CJ Group separated from the larger Samsung Group in 1994 after control of the conglomerate passed to Lee Kun-hee. Industry insiders said the rift between the two business groups runs deep.
According to CJ Group, closed-circuit television footage showed Kim circling the residence of Lee since Monday in different cars, although they say he may have started following the chairman as early as last Friday.
The group said it will urge Samsung Group to make an official apology and take action to prevent the recurrence of such an incident, claiming Samsung Group may be behind Kim's behavior.
Samsung Group declined to make an official comment on CJ Group's claims.
The elder Lee asked a Seoul court to order the head of Samsung Electronics to return 8.24 million shares of Samsung Life Insurance Co., worth more than 700 billion won ($621.1 million).
He claimed that his younger brother concealed the bulk of group stocks, which their father and Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull held under borrowed names. CJ's former chief claimed that despite his father's death, his sibling covered up the existence of the stocks and pocketed them. Lee claimed he has a right to part of the life insurer stocks.
Market watchers said that a potential victory in a court battle by the elder Lee may damage Samsung Group's complex cross-share governance structure that involves affiliates Samsung Card, Samsung Everland, Samsung Life Insurance Co. and Samsung Electronics. (Yonhap)