Lee Jae-yong's Trial on 'Samsung C&T Merger Allegations' Resumes This Week

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The trial of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was indicted on suspicion of illegal succession of Samsung Group's management rights, will resume this week.

According to the legal community on the 7th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-2 (Presiding Judges Park Jeong-je, Park Sa-rang, and Kwon Seong-su) will hold the second pretrial hearing on the 11th for Lee and Samsung Group officials indicted on charges including violation of the Capital Markets and Financial Investment Business Act.

The prosecution alleges that Samsung Group's Future Strategy Office planned the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries to ensure Lee's stable succession of management rights, and indicted Lee along with 11 Samsung officials last September.

Although the first pretrial hearing was held once in October of the same year, Lee's side requested more time to review the extensive case records, so the second trial was scheduled for January this year. However, due to the resurgence of COVID-19 and regular court personnel changes earlier this year, the trial was postponed and will now be held again after about five months.

The Criminal Division 25, which is presiding over the trial, is a collegial panel composed of three chief judges. The previous presiding judges, Chief Judges Lim Jeong-yeop and Kim Seon-hee, who had been handling Lee's case, were transferred last month. The new presiding judge is Chief Judge Park Jeong-je, and the chief judge responsible for drafting the verdict is Chief Judge Park Sa-rang.

Meanwhile, Lee was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison in the retrial of the state affairs manipulation case in January and is currently serving his sentence at Seoul Detention Center. Since attendance is not mandatory for pretrial hearings, it is expected that Lee will not appear in court in person on that day.