Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's Samsung C&T Merger Allegation Trial Resumes on the 11th

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is heading to the courtroom to attend the retrial of the 'state corruption' case held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, last November.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The trial related to the allegations of illegal succession of management rights, another legal battle involving Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, will resume next week.

According to the legal community and Samsung Electronics on the 4th, the preparatory hearing for the trial concerning Vice Chairman Lee's alleged illegal succession of management rights is scheduled for the 11th. Originally, this trial began with the first preparatory hearing on October 1st last year. The second preparatory hearing was set for January 14th but was postponed due to the resurgence of COVID-19, and a new date has now been established. Meanwhile, the presiding judges have also been replaced due to court personnel changes.

It is known that Vice Chairman Lee is currently preparing for the trial while in contact with his legal team at Uiwang Detention Center, where he is serving a prison sentence following a conviction in the state power abuse case. After being re-incarcerated on January 18th, he was quarantined for four weeks for COVID-19 prevention measures. Since the 15th of last month, general visits have been allowed, but it is understood that he has not received visits from company executives or family members, except for his legal team. This is interpreted as a measure to allow him to focus on the trial, considering that general visits are limited to once a week for 10 minutes.

Previously, the prosecution viewed the 2015 merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, and the accounting changes at Samsung BioLogics, a subsidiary of Cheil Industries, as a group-level plan to transfer management rights to Vice Chairman Lee. Eleven Samsung officials, including Lee, were indicted last September. The charges against Lee and others include violations of the Capital Markets Act, breach of fiduciary duty, and violations of the External Audit Act. Lee's side argues that "the merger was legally conducted out of business necessity."

Meanwhile, unlike formal trials, the preparatory hearing does not require the defendant's direct attendance. For this reason, some in the legal community expect that Vice Chairman Lee will not appear in person.