◆ Lee Jae-yong’s Destruction and Recall ◆
Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics is heading to the court to attend the trial for the reconsideration of the case of “Gukjeong Nongdan” held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu on the afternoon of the 30th. [이승환 기자]– “I want to pay tribute to my father who respects and respects so much.” No. 312 of the Seoul High Court was held on the afternoon of the 30th. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who took the final statement of the accused, has been unable to forget the words for a while, as if emotions were overwhelming at this point. It took him a minute or so to finish this one sentence in a crying, trembling voice.
In his final statement, Vice Chairman Lee emphasized his commitment to compliance management, referring to the ‘Seungeobu (better than his father)’, which came out at the ceremony of the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee two months ago. Vice-Chairman Lee said, “It is a true filial piety to surpass my father,” he said. “It is a natural responsibility to win the competition and grow the company, discovering new businesses to expand the business, but the seung fisherman I dream of has a greater meaning. It contains” he said.
Vice Chairman Lee continued, “To make Samsung a company that everyone loves and trusts, this is what Jae-yong Lee, my own fisherman and entrepreneur, pursues.” “Unfair pressure from outside by changing my mental attitude and company culture and supplementing the system. “We will create a tight compliance system that can be rejected even if this comes in.” In addition to succeeding and developing the achievements and fruits of Samsung, which has established itself as a top-notch company, it has made a pledge to break away from past mistakes and build trust.
– With the conclusion of the decision on that day, the farewell trial for Vice Chairman Lee to abandon the Gukjeong Nongdan trial is also approaching the end. While Vice-Chairman Lee is leaving only the sentence that is scheduled for early next year, there are growing concerns in business and academia that excessive judicial risk against Lee is holding firmly to the Korean economy as well as Samsung.
Vice-Chairman Lee has been suffering from judicial risk for more than four years since he began receiving a subpoena in November 2016. He was summoned and investigated by the prosecution ten times, and three times were examined for the actual arrest warrant. The number of times he has attended the trial so far has reached 82 times, including the trial for the decision to abandon the case of Gukjeong Nongdan.
The problem is that this is not all. From January next year, a trial will continue in relation to the illegal merger of Samsung C&T and the alleged fraudulent accounting of Samsung Biologics. This case is expected to take a considerable amount of time, as the case is much more complicated than the case of the Gukjeong Nongdan case, and the evidence record alone is 368 volumes and about 190,000 pages. The legal community observes that, in light of the Gukjeong Nongdan case, this trial can also take from 3 to 5 years. This is why there are concerns that Samsung is at the crossroads of’lost 10 years’.
Business and academia experts point out that if Lee is sentenced to imprisonment or higher, the management of Samsung Electronics and other Samsung Electronics will not be able to escape from the “routine maintenance”, and thus the realization of “Samsung’s lost 10 years” should be prevented by solving judicial risks.
Seoul National University professor Lee Kyung-mook said, “I can’t even dream of large-scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or new facility investments in trillions of won,” and said, “In order to catch up with TSMC in Taiwan, investment in factories and R&D is inevitable. “He said. Previously, Vice Chairman Lee invested a total of 133 trillion won in R&D and production facilities for 10 years, catching up with TSMC, the world’s strongest in system semiconductor foundry (consignment production) by 2030, and achieving first place in system semiconductors after memory. 2030` has been revealed.
A Samsung executive who requested anonymity said, “Since Samsung Electronics acquired Harman, a US automotive electronic equipment company for 9.4 trillion won in 2016, there have been no large-scale M&A cases.” , Samsung Bio’s accounting controversy continued, and it was difficult to carry out large-scale business with confidence.” He added, “I am only envious of the situation where SK Hynix is acquiring Intel’s NAND flash business for 1.3 trillion won and Hyundai Motors acquires Boston Dynamics.”
The business community believes that if the judicial risk for Vice Chairman Lee is resolved, it will be a boon for not only Samsung but also the national economy in crisis due to Corona 19. In order to prepare for the future, large-scale facility investment, R&D investment, global mergers and acquisitions are in full swing, and the development of nationwide future growth engines, such as artificial intelligence (AI), bio, and 5G mobile communications, will accelerate. It is an analysis.
A business official said, “Resolving the judicial risk surrounding Samsung, the backbone of the Korean economy, will be a great boon for the Korean economy in the face of the uncertainty of Corona 19,” he said. “The entire business community that should play a leading role in overcoming the first economic crisis It could be an opportunity to boost morale,” he said.
[노현 기자 / 이종혁 기자]
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