Samsung chairman marks 1st anniversary with court appearance
Lee Jae-yong, center, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, enters the Seoul Central District Court building in Seoul to attend a hearing in his ongoing trial on charges of instructing accounting fraud and an unfair merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, Friday. Yonhap
Lee Jae-yong, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, appeared in court on Friday, offering no comment over allegations that he illegally intervened in the management succession process.
The executive chairman appeared in the first hearing of his trial on charges of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act at the Seoul Central District Court, one year after taking on the role of executive chairman.
Arriving at the court wearing a mask, the executive chairman did not respond to reporters' questions about his one-year anniversary as the chief of Samsung Electronics. He will not hold any events or issue any statements related to the milestone.
Lee is accused of illegally interfering in a merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 2015 for the purpose of facilitating his leadership succession.
Prosecutors believe that Lee and executives manipulated the merger ratio of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries and that there was accounting fraud in Samsung Biologics, a subsidiary of Cheil Industries, in the process.
The defendant maintains there were no problems with the merger process, saying that it was a reasonable management decision at the time and the company’s performance improved afterwards.
Lee's trial began in April 2017 when he was indicted on charges of bribing former President Park Geun-hye and her close friend Choi Soon-sil. Lee was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for his role in the corruption scandal, and was imprisoned until 2021 when he was released on parole, and then pardoned in August 2022.
Depending on the outcome of Friday's hearing, the court may schedule a final hearing next month to conclude the trial. Sentencing could come as early as this year.
Lee was appointed as executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, the crown jewel affiliate of Samsung Group, on Oct. 27, 2022, after being approved at a board meeting. He succeeded his founder-grandfather Lee Byung-chul and his father Lee Kun-hee.