Lee Chan-hee "Need for Corporate Governance Improvement for Responsible Management Including Lee Jae-yong's Return as Registered Executive"

Samsung Compliance Committee Publishes Annual Report
Lee States in Foreword "Samsung Faces Dire Straits"
"A Critical Moment for Transformation into a Top-Tier Company"

Lee Chan-hee, Chairman of the Samsung Compliance Monitoring Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Compliance Committee), stated on the 15th that Samsung needs "an innovative governance reform for responsible management, including rebuilding the control tower for focused management decisions, removing barriers that hinder smooth communication within the organization, and the return of the CEO as a registered executive."

Lee Chan-hee, Chairman of Samsung Compliance Committee.
Photo by Yonhap News

In the foreword to the Compliance Committee's 2023 annual report published that day, Chairman Lee wrote this and added, "The committee will strictly perform its role as a watchdog with rigorous principles regarding any potential risks of compliance violations during this process."

The Compliance Committee is promoting the restructuring of Samsung's governance as a key task and is discussing current issues such as the revival of the group control tower.

Earlier, Chairman Lee expressed the opinion that, in terms of strengthening responsible management, it is desirable for Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is currently a non-registered executive, to quickly return as a registered executive. Chairman Lee pointed out, "Samsung is currently the largest company in Korea that no one can deny, but it is facing unprecedented difficulties such as rapidly changing domestic and international economic conditions that are hard to predict, the emergence of labor unions never experienced before, weakening pride and confidence among members, difficulties in recruiting talent, and technology leakage."

He continued, "This is a critical moment when Samsung must overcome all these challenges and transform into a respected world-class company beyond just being number one in size," emphasizing, "Management must also boldly change for survival and growth."

He said, "Any past declarations of Samsung that do not fit the times should be boldly discarded, and we must confidently break free from the fear of judicial risks," adding, "We need to restore the pride of 'We are Samsung' and the confidence of 'We can do it' among our members."