[Editorial Note] Samsung's Stalled Clock: Time to Move Forward Again

End of Judicial Risk, Time to Prove in the Market
Revival of Control Tower and Pile of Future Business Challenges
Fully the "JY System"... Now Leadership Must Be Demonstrated

"Now, it is not the court but the market that will judge. The time has come when no more excuses can be made."

An executive in the business community offered this assessment regarding the Supreme Court's acquittal of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong. It reflected both the expectations for the leader returning to the frontlines of management after resolving a decade-long judicial risk, and the challenge that he must now prove the results to investors and the market who have waited through Samsung's prolonged slump. Although he has finally shed his legal shackles, the weight and responsibility he must bear as a leader have only grown heavier.

The clock of Samsung, which once dreamed of becoming a "global top-tier" company, came to a halt in the face of its leader's judicial risks. In 2015, controversy erupted over the unfair merger between Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T, and the following year, the company became embroiled in the Park Geun-hye administration's political scandal. Samsung had to walk a tightrope under a dual structure of a vice chairman and professional managers. Even after Lee Jae-yong officially took office as chairman in 2022, he was unable to fully lead the group's direction. Bold investments and decisive actions that could determine the company's future growth engines disappeared. More often, Samsung found itself following rather than leading the industry. It was a "lost decade."

This ruling carries a significance beyond the end of judicial proceedings. With uncertainty cleared, it marks the starting line for the leadership of the "Lee Jae-yong system" to stand again. Because time stood still, Samsung's clock must now move even faster. The era of artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived, and Samsung, once a dominant player in DRAM, has become a challenger trailing behind in the "AI chip" market. In high-bandwidth memory (HBM), SK hynix has taken the lead, and Samsung remains stuck waiting for Nvidia's qualification tests, struggling to seize opportunities. In the foundry market, the gap with TSMC has widened, and competition from China is intensifying.

The direction the clock must point to is "overcoming crisis." There is a mountain of tasks ahead: the revival of a control tower to oversee the entire group, business restructuring, generational shifts in personnel, discovery of future businesses, and large-scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In semiconductors, the development of HBM4 and securing yields for 2-nanometer processes are urgent, while the deadline for attracting customers to the Taylor plant in the United States is approaching. For AI and bio, the so-called "post-semiconductor" growth engines, it is now time to move from words to action and show results to investors and the market.

The mere resolution of judicial risk has already brought a positive response to the share prices of major Samsung affiliates. However, the real evaluation lies ahead. A "not guilty" verdict from the court does not automatically mean "restored trust" in the market. Investors will judge the "Lee Jae-yong system" by stock prices, the industry will judge by technological capabilities, and the global market will judge by future competitiveness. To ensure that the slogan of a "new Samsung" does not remain just a catchphrase, Samsung must prove for itself which direction its clock will now point to.