Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Samsung Electronics picks Samjong KPMG as auditor
Samjong KPMG headquarters in southern Seoul / Courtesy of Samjong KPMG
By Anna J. Park
By Anna J. Park
Samsung Electronics has selected Samjong KPMG as its external auditor for the next three fiscal years. It is the first time ever that the accounting firm has been selected as the external auditor of the nation's largest company by market cap.
The announcement came as a surprise to the local accounting industry, as expectations were that Samsung Electronics would go back to Samil PwC, the largest accounting firm in Korea. Samil PwC had been auditing Samsung Electronics for over four decades since the 1970s until 2019.
But a revision to the country's accounting-related law forced Samsung Electronics to sign Deloitte Anjin as its external auditor from the fiscal years of 2020 to 2022. The revision of the External Audit Act in 2019 states that corporations are obligated to appoint an external auditor that has been designated by the government for three-year terms, following a six-year cycle of free appointments of external auditors.
As the three-year contract with Deloitte Anjin is about to end soon, the global chipmaker held a competitive bid for the external auditor role between Samil PwC and Samjong KPMG late October, and many market insiders expected Samil PwC would return to its auditor position at the electronics company. Yet the decision ended with Samjong KPMG's victory to the surprise of many.
Market insiders view that the unexpected selection of Samjong KPMG reflects Samsung Electronics' changed priority of strengthening management transparency under the official appointment of Lee Jae-yong as chairman. “The move is also seen in line with Samsung's increased commitment to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) management principles,” a market insider said on condition of anonymity.
Whatever the rationale is behind the designation, Samjong KPMG seems to be enjoying a fruitful season with many quality clients coming to it. SK hynix, another global chip maker and key competitor of Samsung Electronics, and Shinhan Financial Group and Mirae Asset Securities have all picked the accounting firm as their external auditor for the next three years.