A South Korean court on Monday acquitted the heir and de facto boss of the Samsung group, prosecuted for accounting fraud in the context of the merger of two companies of the group in 2015, reported the Yonhap news agency.
According to Yonhap, the court found that there was no
“intent to harm shareholders”
through the merger, which, according to the heir's detractors, was intended in particular to ensure a smooth transfer of power. to Lee Jae-yong, a descendant of the founding family of Samsung.
Lee Jae-yong, 54 - the 278th richest person in the world according to Forbes - was released conditionally in August 2021, after serving 18 months in prison, just over half of his original sentence.
In October 2022, he took over the executive presidency of Samsung Electronics, the jewel of the group, two months after the pardon of the President of South Korea.
The Seoul Central District Court's verdict clears him of several charges, including stock price rigging, breach of trust and accounting fraud, in the 2015 merger between two Samsung subsidiaries, Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T, construction and engineering company.
“Consolidating control of Lee Jae-yong and ensuring his succession was not the sole purpose of the merger
,” the court said, according to Yonhap, adding that there was
“no validation to prove the charge.”
.
“Today's verdict clearly shows that the merger was legitimate.
We sincerely thank the Court for its judicious judgment
,” Lee Jae-yong’s lawyers said in a brief statement.
Critics say the 2015 merger deliberately undervalued Samsung C&T stock, unfairly affecting its shareholders.
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Evidence “without due process”
The prosecution had requested a five-year sentence in its closing argument in November, even citing the feeling of undervaluation of South Korean companies in the global market.
Lee Jae-yong, for his part, declared in court that he was not motivated by
“a personal interest in the merger”
.
“The court appears to have based its decision on the grounds that some of the evidence against Lee Jae-yong was collected without due process
,” said Oh Se-hyung, director of the NGO Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice.
“But that alone should not have given Lee a free pass and I wonder if the prosecution did its best to hold him accountable
,” he added.
The verdict was delivered almost three years after the first hearing for this case, which was followed by around a hundred others.
This acquittal will in any case allow Samsung Electronics, which supplies around 60% of memory chips to the world market, to
“reflect on establishing long-term investment plans
,” declared Kim Dae-jong, professor of administration. business at Sejong University in Seoul.