Lee Jae-yong Apologizes After Elevating Compliance Oversight Committee... Now All Eyes on Possible Change of Trial Panel

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is making a public apology on the 6th at the Seocho-dong headquarters regarding the succession of management rights, non-union management, and communication with civil society. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Following Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's public apology in accordance with the Compliance Committee's recommendation, attention is now focused on the Supreme Court's decision.

The Supreme Court will soon issue a ruling on Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo's request to replace the trial panel in the retrial of Vice Chairman Lee's political scandal case. This ruling will determine the sentence that Lee will receive.

According to the Supreme Court on the 7th, the special prosecutor's re-appeal against the Seoul High Court's dismissal of the request to disqualify the trial panel was received yesterday. A Supreme Court official said in a phone interview, "The results of re-appeals usually come out within 2 to 4 months, but there is a possibility that this case will be decided within two months." The special prosecutor filed a request to disqualify Chief Judge Jung Joon-young of the Seoul High Court, who is presiding over Lee's retrial, alleging biased proceedings. However, after the Seoul High Court dismissed the request, the special prosecutor filed a re-appeal with the Supreme Court on the 23rd of last month.

Whether Chief Judge Jung will continue to preside over the trial may be directly linked to the influence of Lee's apology on the trial. At the retrial hearing held in January, Chief Judge Jung stated, "In corporate crime trials, the implementation of an effective compliance monitoring system is one of the sentencing factors set by the U.S. federal courts," adding, "This system must be operated substantially and effectively to be considered a sentencing condition. In Samsung's case, strict and thorough inspection is necessary."

This can be interpreted as the court examining whether the Compliance Committee is being effectively operated and reflecting this in Lee's sentencing. Since Lee has guaranteed the activities of the Compliance Committee and followed its recommendations as requested by Chief Judge Jung, Lee's apology is likely to influence the sentencing decision of Chief Judge Jung.

In fact, in January, Chief Judge Jung reduced the sentence from five years to two years and six months in the appeal trial of Lee Joong-geun, chairman of Booyoung Group, who was indicted on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust, considering the establishment of a compliance office by Booyoung Group. The special prosecutor is withholding comments on this situation. A special prosecutor official said in a phone interview, "We do not consider it appropriate to comment on or review the content of Vice Chairman Lee's apology."

Meanwhile, separate from the public apology, Lee is expected to appear before the prosecution as a suspect as early as next week in connection with the Samsung Biologics accounting fraud case. The Economic Crime Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Bok-hyun), which is investigating the case, has summoned current and former senior Samsung officials for questioning one after another this year. Since the prosecution plans to complete the investigation and decide on the prosecution of suspects within this month, it seems certain that Lee will soon be summoned as the final subject of investigation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.