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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] South Korea’s Supreme Court is set to deliver its final ruling on Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s high-profile merger and accounting fraud case on July 17, nearly five years after he was first indicted. Lower courts have previously acquitted him of all charges.
According to legal sources on June 26, the Supreme Court’s Third Petty Bench, presided over by Justice Oh Seok-jun, has scheduled the verdict for 11:15 a.m. on July 17. The decision comes five months after the Seoul High Court upheld Lee’s acquittal in February and four years and ten months after his initial indictment.
Lee was charged in September 2020 with orchestrating an unlawful merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 2015 to facilitate a low-cost and stable transfer of control within the Samsung Group. Prosecutors alleged that Samsung’s now-defunct Future Strategy Office (FSO) engaged in stock price manipulation, unfair trading practices, and accounting fraud to support Lee’s succession.
In February 2023, the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Lee of all 19 charges. The Seoul High Court upheld that ruling in February 2024, also acquitting the 13 co-defendants, including former top Samsung executives Choi Gee-sung, Kim Jong-joong, and Jang Choong-ki, all of whom served in the FSO.
The appellate court rejected the prosecution’s claim that the merger process involved fabricated reports, premeditated manipulation of shareholder votes, or illicit exertion of influence to secure the deal. It also dismissed allegations of accounting irregularities, stating that the financial reporting at issue did not exceed the bounds of reasonable managerial discretion, nor did it mislead external stakeholders or obscure changes in corporate control.
The Supreme Court’s upcoming decision is expected to bring legal closure to one of the most scrutinized corporate governance cases in South Korea’s recent history, with potential implications for Lee’s leadership and Samsung Group’s long-term succession structure.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
