'Anxiety → Nervousness → Relief'... Samsung's 16 Hours 42 Minutes

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] From 10 a.m. on June 8 to 2:42 a.m. on June 9, a total of 16 hours and 42 minutes, the atmosphere within Samsung Group changed moment by moment.

The first detected expression was anxiety. Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics, who arrived at the Seocho District Court Complex West Building entrance at 10 a.m. on the 8th to attend the pre-trial detention hearing (warrant review), and the Samsung executives waiting there all showed troubled and anxious expressions. When reporters bombarded him with questions, Vice Chairman Lee briefly showed a flicker of shaken eyes but said nothing and headed to the courtroom. At the same time, Samsung employees gathered at the scene paced anxiously around the court. When a reporter asked, "How is Samsung's atmosphere this morning?" a Samsung official replied with a stern expression, "It is a very anxious situation." Vice Chairman Lee was facing a 'hidden obstacle' while tightening investment and on-site management to overcome the difficulties in management caused by the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and conflicts between the U.S. and China.

As the sharp exchanges between the prosecution and Vice Chairman Lee’s defense team continued for hours, anxiety also filled the area outside Courtroom 321 at the Seoul Central District Court, where about 30 reporters had gathered. The prosecution read through a 150-page warrant application, which was 28 pages longer than the one for former President Park Geun-hye’s state affairs manipulation case. Vice Chairman Lee’s defense team strongly denied the charges in the prosecution’s warrant application and argued that there was no reason for detention. As the warrant hearing lasted longer than expected, Samsung employees also waited anxiously near the courtroom. The warrant hearing for Vice Chairman Lee and others lasted over 8 hours that day, breaking the previous record set during the state affairs manipulation case in February 2017. At that time, the warrant hearing for Vice Chairman Lee, who was charged with bribery, lasted 7 hours and 30 minutes. The longest warrant hearing on record was for former President Park Geun-hye, who faced state affairs manipulation charges, which took 8 hours and 40 minutes.

After the questioning of former Samsung Future Strategy Office Chief Vice Chairman Choi Ji-sung (69) and former Future Strategy Office Strategy Team Leader President Kim Jong-jung (64), who were also brought to the detention hearing, ended, Vice Chairman Lee left the court around 9:10 p.m. that day. He headed to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, to await the result. Vice Chairman Lee, boarding the escort vehicle, wore a somber expression.

In front of the Seoul Detention Center, there were only about 10 reporters, Samsung employees, and conservative YouTubers. The police had initially stationed about 100 officers on site in case a crowd demanding Vice Chairman Lee’s detention gathered and caused incidents, but no untoward events occurred. When the court announced around 2 a.m. on the 9th that Vice Chairman Lee’s detention warrant had been dismissed, the Samsung employees gathered in front of the detention center showed relieved expressions. A Samsung official expressed relief but also said, "It is still too early to relax since the prosecution’s indictment is expected to be the next step."

After completing the release procedures and walking out of the detention center around 2:42 a.m., Vice Chairman Lee appeared somewhat exhausted from the long warrant hearing and waiting for the result. Before getting into the car, he seemed to stagger briefly, perhaps from the release of tension. When reporters waiting outside the detention center asked about his feelings, he briefly said, "Thank you for your hard work until late," before getting into the vehicle. Some conservative YouTubers gathered in front of the Seoul Detention Center shouted "Samsung Fighting" as Vice Chairman Lee stepped outside the detention center that day.

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