Samsung executives were acquitted in major cases that have been ongoing since 2015

A Seoul court on Monday acquitted Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong in a case involving the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung subsidiaries that it said was designed to help him take over control of South Korea’s largest conglomerate.

The Seoul Central District Court acquitted Lee Jae-yong three years and five months after he was accused of participating in market irregularities in the merger of Cheil Industrial Co. and Samsung C&T Co. to consolidate his management control over the company. Group costs are lower.

Lee was accused of stock price manipulation, breach of trust and accounting fraud during the controversial merger in 2015, when three Samsung C&T shares were exchanged for one Cheil Wool stock, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The merger is seen as crucial to Lee Kun-hee’s succession as heir to the family-controlled conglomerate because his father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack last year.

Prosecutors suspect that the group manipulated the stock market, raised Cheil’s share price and depressed Samsung C&T by spreading false market information, purchasing large amounts of shares of affiliated companies, and illegally lobbying the National Pension Service, Samsung C&T’s main subsidiary. share price. Shareholders support the merger.

Prosecutors suspect that Lee Jae-yong, Cheil Wool’s largest shareholder with a 23.2% stake, has been pursuing such violations since 2012 to help him strengthen his de facto control over Samsung Group. Controlled by the holding company Samsung C&T. .

The court acquitted Lee Myung-bak and held that there was no illegal conduct in Lee Myung-bak’s inheritance process.

The court concluded that Lee Teng-hui’s succession as chairman of the group or to consolidate his control over the group was not the sole purpose of the 2015 merger, and there was no evidence that the merger caused financial losses to shareholders.

The court also found Lee not guilty of charges of involvement in alleged accounting fraud at Cheil Textiles subsidiary Samsung Biologics.

“None of the criminal charges in this case have been proven,” the court said.

Lee Myung-bak welcomed the not guilty verdict. “I sincerely thank the court for its wise decision,” Li’s lawyer told reporters after the verdict.

Prosecutors have one week to appeal the court ruling.

In the ruling, Choi Gee-sung, the former head of Samsung’s now-defunct Control Tower Future Strategy Office, two other former officials from the office and 10 others were also acquitted of merger-related charges.

Prosecutors asked for Lee to be sentenced to five years in prison and fined 500 million won ($373,550), finding him ultimately responsible for the alleged manipulation scheme.

Lee has denied the allegations, claiming his personal interests were not considered during the merger of affiliated companies. He also begged the court to acquit him so he could “focus all his resources on moving the company forward.”

Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison in a bribery case involving ousted former President Park Geun-hye and was paroled in 2021 while serving his sentence. The following year, he received a special presidential pardon, which restored all his rights and returned to management.

(This article has not been edited by News18 staff and is published by IANS, the associated news agency)