Prosecutors to Decide on Lee Jae-yong's 'Not Guilty' Appeal by the 10th... Private Deliberation Today

Decision on Whether to File an Appeal Expected by the 10th

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is on trial for unfair merger and accounting fraud charges related to succession of management rights, is attending the appellate sentencing hearing held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 3rd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

The prosecution held a closed session of the Criminal Appeal Review Committee at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office regarding Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was acquitted of all 19 charges in the second trial related to allegations of unfair mergers and accounting fraud. The prosecution is expected to decide whether to file an appeal by the 10th, based on the committee's review results.

This was in response to a request from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation team to have the Supreme Court review the case once more for Chairman Lee, former Samsung Group Future Strategy Office (FSO) chief Choi Ji-sung, and 14 other defendants, all of whom were acquitted in the first and second trials.

According to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office regulations, when intending to appeal a case in which all charges were acquitted in both the first and second trials, a review by the committee must be requested. It is reported that six committee members, including lawyers and professors, attended the meeting.

Four prosecutors responsible for maintaining the indictment in Chairman Lee's case also appeared in person to explain the necessity of the appeal. The prosecution prepared and provided the committee members with a case brief detailing the case overview, trial results, evidence relationships, and legal reasons for the appeal.

The prosecution reportedly expressed the need for a Supreme Court ruling based on the Seoul Administrative Court's ruling last August, which found issues with some accounting treatments at Samsung Biologics. After about an hour and a half of discussion, the committee reached a review opinion. However, specific results such as support or opposition to the appeal were not disclosed.

The prosecution will review the committee's opinion and make the final decision on whether to appeal. Prosecutors are expected to respect the committee's opinion as much as possible but are not obligated to follow it. The appeal period ends on the 10th.