Park Ji-won on Lee Jae-yong's 'Not Guilty' Verdict: "Hope You Lead Innovation Like DeepSeek"

"Bringing Hope to a Stagnant Economy"
"Chairman Lee Should Lead Innovations Like DeepSeek"
"The Country Stands Upright Only When the Prosecution Stands Upright"

Park Ji-won, Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong was acquitted in the appellate trial on charges of unfair merger and accounting fraud, while Park Ji-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged the prosecution not to appeal.

On the 5th, Park posted on his social media account, "The prosecution should also reflect and not appeal against Lee Jae-yong." He began by saying, "The acquittal of Chairman Lee Jae-yong in both the first and second trials brings hope to our stagnant economy through the 'AI Three-Nation Alliance' and 'Stargate' involving Lee Jae-yong, Sam Altman, and Masayoshi Son." He added, "Of course, Chairman Lee should also show the public a responsible leadership role in innovations like DeepSeek."

Park also stated, "The prosecution tried to imprison him with an appeal brief exceeding 1,000 pages regarding the first trial's acquittal, but I urged a swift and fair judicial decision for the sake of our economy. The response was positive." He emphasized, "Now, I hope the prosecution reconsiders the appeal with careful judgment. In fact, they should not appeal." He further welcomed the acquittal in the appellate trial of former Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho and Assemblyman Hwang Un-ha, who endured prolonged excessive investigations. Finally, he said, "The prosecution's reckless moves will boomerang back on themselves," and "Only when the prosecution stands upright will the country stand upright."

Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics. Photo by Heo Young-han

Earlier, the 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Baek Gang-jin) acquitted Chairman Lee on the 3rd in the appellate trial regarding charges of unfair merger and accounting fraud. The prosecution pointed out in their final statement last November, "The defendants abused their authority and exploited information asymmetry for Lee Jae-yong's personal gain," adding, "What the defendants damaged are constitutional values that form the foundation of our economic justice and capital market."

However, Samsung refuted the prosecution's claims, stating it was a reasonable business decision. In his final statement at the sentencing hearing, Chairman Lee said, "After being informed about the (Cheil Industries-Samsung C&T) merger promotion, I believed it would clearly benefit the futures of both companies," and "I absolutely had no intention of harming shareholders or deceiving investors for my personal gain." Ultimately, the court ruled, "Criminal responsibility cannot be recognized based on speculation, scenarios, or assumptions," and acquitted him of all charges.

Subsequently, on the 4th, Chairman Lee held a four-party meeting at the Seoul Seocho headquarters with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SoftBank Group; and Rene Haas, CEO of Arm. They reportedly discussed strategic cooperation plans in the AI and semiconductor fields and explored ways to play a central role in the global AI ecosystem.