Lee Jae-yong Trial Postponed... Special Prosecutor "No Change in Previous Position"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] It is known that the special prosecution maintains its original stance regarding the postponement of the retrial hearing of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. The special prosecution holds the view that the Compliance Committee established by Samsung should not influence Vice Chairman Lee's sentencing, and if this opinion is not accepted, they may even consider filing a motion to disqualify the presiding judge.

A special prosecution official stated on the 7th, "We are preparing a written opinion at the request of the court," adding, "Since much of the content overlaps with the opposition opinion we have already submitted, we are currently reviewing whether there is anything additional to say." The special prosecution had opposed reflecting the operation of Samsung's Compliance Committee in Vice Chairman Lee's sentencing on the 31st of last month. Their argument was that the operation of the Compliance Committee is a system that considers corporate sentencing in corporate crimes, not applicable to individual sentencing. The official explained, "We are leaning towards citing the existing opinion letter," and added, "Basically, we understand the court's request from the previous day as asking the defense to submit a rebuttal to the opinion we submitted."

Earlier, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Jung Jun-young), which is handling this case, changed the hearing date for Vice Chairman Lee originally scheduled for the 14th and requested both the special prosecution and Vice Chairman Lee's side to submit opinions on the Compliance Committee the day before. The court's request focused on three main issues: ▲ Opinions on the overall purpose of the Compliance System ▲ Whether the Compliance System qualifies as a mitigating factor in sentencing, and if not, the reasons why ▲ The defense's rebuttal to the special prosecution's opinion that the system of appointing a professional investigator to review the operation of the Compliance Committee is inappropriate.

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