Seoul (TDI): On Thursday, South Korea’s top court cleared Chairman Samsung Electronics, Jay Y. Lee, of accounting fraud and stock manipulation, concluding a years-long legal battle over his role in a 2015 merger deal.
The Supreme Court in its final verdict in Seoul upheld a not guilty verdict, after Lee was acquitted of all charges in two earlier trials.
“Today, the Supreme Court has clearly confirmed through its final ruling that the merger of Samsung C&T and the accounting treatment of Samsung Biologics were lawful,” said Samsung’s lawyers on Thursday.
Lee, the grandson of Samsung’s founder and the de facto head of the company since 2014, had been accused of using stock and accounting fraud to try to gain control of the firm.
Prosecutors accused Lee and his advisors of inflating the value of his pharmaceutical firm, Samsung Biologics, through fraudulent accounting.
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They argued that the 2015 merger deal that led him to secure his succession was due to the higher value that allowed him to buy a larger share of a key Samsung subsidiary.Â
Prosecutors also said the merger was designed to shift control of the company from Lee’s father. His father, Lee Kun-hee, who faced legal troubles of his own, suffered a heart attack in 2014 and died in 2020.
The younger Lee was first arrested in 2017 for bribing an advisor to former President Park Geun-hye to smooth his succession at Samsung.
In 2024, a district court cleared Lee of all charges linked to the merger worth around $8bn (£5.97bn) of two of its subsidiaries.
Lee was cleared again after prosecutors appealed the case in the High Court. Business lobby groups welcomed the court’s decision, framing it as a stabilizing development for the South Korean economy.
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The Korea Enterprises Federation said the ruling removes a major legal burden for Samsung and comes at a time of intensifying global competition in high-tech industries like AI and semiconductors as well as economic pressure from U.S. trade tariffs.
“Samsung’s role as a leading South Korean company is more critical than ever,” the group said in a statement.
The group said it hoped Samsung, under Lee’s leadership, would step up investment and innovation, helping to create jobs and bolster South Korea’s economic rebound.
An IR student whose interest lies in diplomacy and current affairs and a part time debater
