On the 11th, the Central District Prosecutors' Office Subcommittee will decide whether to hold the Prosecution Investigation Deliberation Committee requested by Lee Jae-yong

Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, who is under prosecution investigation for allegations of unfair succession of management rights related to the merger of the former Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, as well as allegations of accounting fraud at Samsung Biologics, is entering the courtroom to attend the warrant hearing held on the 8th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] It is expected that the decision on whether to refer the case of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who has had an arrest warrant requested amid allegations surrounding the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries and the succession of management rights, to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Prosecutorial Investigation Committee will be made on the 11th.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced on the 8th that it plans to hold a referral deliberation committee on the 11th to discuss the agenda of referring Vice Chairman Lee's case to the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee.

The prosecution has requested the investigation team and Vice Chairman Lee's defense counsel to prepare and submit written opinions necessary for the deliberation.

The referral deliberation committee is composed of 15 members randomly selected from among the citizen prosecutors.

If the referral deliberation committee decides to convene the investigation committee, the Prosecutor General must accept this and convene the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Investigation Committee.

On the 2nd, the defense counsel for Vice Chairman Lee and former Samsung Future Strategy Office President Kim Jong-jung submitted an application to convene the investigation committee, requesting that the appropriateness of prosecution be judged by the committee.

The decision on whether to prosecute made by the investigation committee, which is composed of external experts, is only advisory and the investigation team is not obligated to follow it.

Vice Chairman Lee and others are undergoing a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant substantive examination) starting at 10:30 a.m. on the same day.

Earlier, on the morning of the 4th, the Economic Crime Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Bok-hyun) applied for arrest warrants against Vice Chairman Lee, former President Kim, and former Future Strategy Office Director Choi Ji-sung (Vice Chairman) on charges of market manipulation and unfair trading under the Capital Markets Act, and violations of the External Audit Act.

If the arrest warrant is issued, the discussion on referral to the investigation committee becomes meaningless. If it is dismissed, the court's judgment on how well the criminal charges are substantiated may affect not only the referral decision but also future prosecution.

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