Samsung Compliance Monitoring Committee Appoints Civic Group Member as Media Officer... 'Step to Strengthen Independence'

Director Park Jun-young active as cultural film critic and head of Citizen Group Culture Consumer Center
Considering outsourcing website server management to external parties instead of Compliance Oversight Committee or affiliates

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Samsung Compliance Monitoring Committee has appointed Park Jun-young, a cultural and film critic active in civic groups, as the head of communications to interact with the media. This move is analyzed as an effort to secure independence in media activities related to the Compliance Monitoring Committee.

According to the Compliance Monitoring Committee on the 4th, Park Jun-young, a cultural and film critic and CEO of the film and video production company Cross Culture, was recently appointed as the head of communications responsible for media relations. Park previously served as a film rating committee member of the Korea Media Rating Board. He also serves as the head of the Cultural Consumer Center, an affiliated activity organization of the Consumer Sovereignty Citizens' Council, a civic group where Compliance Monitoring Committee member Ko Gye-hyun is the secretary-general. Park has been reporting to the Samsung Life Seocho Building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the Compliance Monitoring Committee’s secretariat is located, since the 2nd of this month.

This is interpreted as an effort to ensure internal and external independence and transparency in media relations by entrusting the role to an external figure rather than Samsung employees dispatched to the Compliance Monitoring Committee secretariat. A Compliance Monitoring Committee official explained, "Park has diverse experience, and there was an internal recommendation that he is a suitable person for communication between the Compliance Monitoring Committee and the media."

The Compliance Monitoring Committee also plans to outsource the management of its website server to an external party rather than Samsung affiliates or the committee itself to enhance security and independence. This decision is based on the judgment that if the website server is managed by the Compliance Monitoring Committee or Samsung affiliates, Samsung employees might feel burdened about submitting reports through the website. Previously, after its first meeting on the 5th of last month, the committee stated, "The committee will establish a reporting system separate from affiliates and will receive reports through mechanisms that thoroughly guarantee the anonymity and confidentiality of reporters."

Accordingly, the Compliance Monitoring Committee is reviewing options to select a professional company or law firm to manage the server. According to business and legal circles, overseas companies, including those in the U.S., entrust law firms with managing compliance organization servers to directly handle reports and grievances. However, when a law firm manages the website server, it performs compliance roles while also receiving compensation. Therefore, the Compliance Monitoring Committee is reportedly considering server management specialists alongside law firms, taking into account role overlap and budget. The committee plans to discuss issues related to website server maintenance and outsourcing at its third meeting scheduled for the 5th of this month.

In addition, the Compliance Monitoring Committee will discuss meetings with CEOs of seven affiliated companies with which it has signed business agreements, as well as the appointment of external personnel to the secretariat office. The CEO meetings are said to be occasions for Compliance Monitoring Committee members to confirm the CEOs’ commitment to compliance management and to build trust.

Kim Ji-hyung, Chairman of the Samsung Compliance Committee, is presiding over the 'Samsung Compliance Committee 1st Meeting' held on the 5th at Samsung Life Seocho Tower in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The Samsung Compliance Committee is an external independent organization established to eradicate illegal activities by executives and employees, including CEOs of major Samsung affiliates, and to strengthen compliance management. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@