Samsung Compliance Committee and 7 Affiliates Hold First Workshop... "Compliance is Life"

Compliance Oversight Committee - Over 50 Samsung Officials Attend
Sharing the 'Siemens' Case Rising from Accounting Scandal to Compliance
Discussion on Challenges and Concrete Execution Directions of Samsung's Compliance Management

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Samsung Compliance Committee and compliance officers from seven Samsung Group affiliates held a workshop on the 22nd to discuss ways to strengthen compliance management.

The Samsung Compliance Committee held the workshop on the morning of the 22nd at the Samsung Human Resources Development Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. About 50 people attended the workshop, including six committee members led by Chairman Kim Ji-hyung, compliance team leaders and staff from seven Samsung Group affiliates (Electronics, Electrical, SDI, SDS, Life Insurance, Fire & Marine Insurance, Trading & Investment) that have agreements with the Compliance Committee.

Kim Ji-hyung, Chairman of the Samsung Compliance Committee, is delivering a welcome address at the Compliance Committee-Affiliated Companies Compliance Workshop held on the 22nd.

Photo by Samsung Compliance Committee

Chairman Kim explained the purpose of the workshop, saying, "Communication is the process of reducing the discrepancy between 'what I think I know' and 'what I actually know.' There may be differences in perspectives on the past and future of Samsung's compliance and ethical management, but the committee aims to create a new path for change by bringing these perspectives together and fostering communication."

In the morning session, Committee Member Bong Wook, a former Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, gave a lecture titled "The World's No. 1 Company, Compliance is Life," covering cases of investigations into companies, global standards companies must comply with, challenges for compliance management in a changing era, and the role of legal professionals. Following this, compliance officers from each affiliate participated as panelists in a discussion on "The Current Status and Future Direction of Samsung's Compliance Monitoring System."

In the afternoon, Park Jong-geun, Director of Ethics Management at Siemens Korea, who was invited as an external expert, gave a special lecture on concrete compliance activities. Attendees shared Siemens' case and discussed practical measures Samsung should learn from.

Officials from the Samsung Compliance Committee and seven Samsung affiliates held a workshop on the 22nd at the Yongin Training Center to discuss Samsung's compliance management.

[Photo by Samsung Compliance Committee]

Siemens, a German global company with a 172-year history, was fined 10 billion euros (approximately 13.7 trillion KRW) in 2006 for illegal activities such as accounting fraud and bribery. This severely damaged Siemens' credibility. In response, Siemens significantly strengthened its compliance management and was recognized as a leading compliance company, ranking first in Forbes' "World's Most Admired Companies" in 2017.

Director Park emphasized that the key to Siemens' crisis recovery was "Siemens acknowledging the facts, accepting responsibility, hiring skilled experts for thorough internal investigations, and implementing substantial reforms," advising that "ultimately, the top management's commitment to compliance management is the most important."

After Director Park's lecture, compliance committee members, compliance officers from each affiliate, and related staff discussed specific action plans to strengthen the compliance monitoring system and build a compliance culture.

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