Samsung Electronics Disciplines All Personnel Involved in 'Using Press Passes to Access National Assembly' Incident

Samsung Electronics to Conduct Special Audit on 9th-10th
Samsung Electronics: "Controversial Executive Established Media Company Under Family Name in 2013 Before Joining... Was Unaware of This"
Two More Employees Found Involved Besides Controversial Executive
"We Deeply Acknowledge Responsibility... Will Review and Comply with All Processes to Prevent Recurrence"

On the 8th, Samsung Electronics announced that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter of this year was tentatively estimated at 12.3 trillion won, a 58.1% increase compared to the same period last year. The photo shows the Samsung Electronics headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Sales increased by 6.45% to 66 trillion won compared to the same period last year. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Samsung Electronics announced on the 13th that it will discipline all executives and employees who accessed the National Assembly Members' Office Building using press passes.

Samsung Electronics stated in the afternoon, "We conducted a special audit on employees who recently accessed the National Assembly in relation to the controversy from the 9th to the 10th," and announced this decision.

Regarding the executives who accessed the Members' Office Building using press passes, the company explained, "The audit revealed that the executive in question established an online media outlet under a family member's name in 2013 while serving as a party official, and has been directly writing and posting articles even after joining Samsung in 2015 until recently."

It continued, "This executive was on a one-year contract and did not know when they would leave the company, and since the position was unpaid, they thought there was no need to inform the company. The location of the media outlet was registered at the family residence at the time of establishment, and from 2017 for one year, they rented a commercial space in Yeouido, but did not update the registration after the lease expired. Furthermore, the company was completely unaware of the existence of this online media outlet and confirmed that no support, including advertising, was provided under any name," it added.

As a result of the audit, Samsung Electronics also confirmed that "two employees, who were asked for explanations by a certain National Assembly member's office, visited two offices using access passes issued to other employees," and explained, "They claimed that the access pass application deadline was imminent, making it difficult to process the issuance after receiving the explanation request."

However, Samsung Electronics emphasized, "This is also a clear violation of procedures," and added, "We deeply regret the violations revealed by the audit and have decided to discipline all related personnel, including those responsible."

Additionally, the company pledged, "We sincerely apologize once again for this unfortunate incident and will thoroughly review and comply with all related processes to ensure such incidents do not occur again."

Earlier, on the 7th, Justice Party lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong held a press conference revealing that a Samsung Electronics executive in charge of government relations had been entering the Members' Office Building with a press pass, sparking the controversy. The executive was registered as a long-term National Assembly reporter for the media outlet 'Korea News Factory' and accessed the National Assembly. Individuals not registered for access must disclose the office they are visiting and the purpose of the visit to enter the Members' Office Building.

In response, the executive expressed their intention to resign from Samsung Electronics on the 8th, and Samsung Electronics immediately accepted it. On the same day, Samsung Electronics issued a statement saying, "Not following procedures was clearly wrong," and "We apologize to the National Assembly and related parties for this controversy."