Prosecutors Summon Jung Mong-jin, KCC Chairman... Investigate Circumstances of Samsung Merger

Jung Mong-jin, Chairman of KCC

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 15th, the prosecution summoned and questioned Chung Mong-jin, Chairman of KCC (60), who was involved in the merger process between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.

The Economic Crime Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Bok-hyun) summoned Chairman Chung as a witness and inquired about the circumstances under which KCC purchased Samsung C&T shares during the merger phase.

In June 2015, when the US-based hedge fund Elliott Management opposed the Samsung C&T-Cheil Industries merger, KCC purchased all of Samsung C&T's treasury shares (5.76%) for 674.3 billion KRW.

It has been analyzed that Samsung Electronics increased its friendly stake by selling non-voting treasury shares for strategic alliance purposes, thereby bringing KCC in as a 'white knight.'

The prosecution is examining the overall merger process between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, including the circumstances under which the National Pension Service Fund Management Headquarters, the largest shareholder at the Samsung C&T shareholders' meeting in July of the same year, voted in favor of the merger.

Lee Young-ho, President of Samsung C&T (61), who was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Samsung C&T at the time of the merger, was also summoned again for questioning on the same day.

The prosecution plans to directly summon and investigate Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics (52), who is at the center of various suspicions, once the investigations of these individuals are completed.

There are expectations within and outside the prosecution that Vice Chairman Lee will be summoned sometime next week.

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