Yang Hyang-ja Sells All Samsung Electronics Shares... "To Resolve Conflict of Interest"

Yang Hyang-ja, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is being interviewed on the 13th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] It was confirmed on the 2nd that Yang Hyang-ja, a senior member of the Democratic Party of Korea and former Samsung Electronics executive, has sold all Samsung Electronics shares held under her and her husband's names.

According to the asset registration details of newly registered members of the 21st National Assembly (as of May 30), Yang reported owning a total of 27,100 shares of Samsung Electronics.

Considering the current stock price, the value amounts to approximately 1.5 billion KRW. It is reported that Yang paid over 300 million KRW in capital gains tax during the stock sale process.

Regarding the reason for the sale, Yang stated, "I wanted to completely eliminate any possibility of conflicts of interest and keep things clean," adding, "I did not consider a blind trust for the stocks."

Under the Public Officials Ethics Act, members of the National Assembly must sell or place in a blind trust any stocks related to their duties. If the Stock Blind Trust Review Committee determines there is no relevance to their duties, they may retain the stocks.

Yang is currently serving on the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee. Given that this standing committee handles the national budget, Yang judged that there is a direct or indirect conflict of interest with private companies.

It is known that Yang acquired Samsung Electronics shares over several years through employee stock ownership plans. Samsung Electronics, which entered the semiconductor business in 1974, encouraged employees to acquire employee stock ownership plans to raise funds for research and development (R&D) investments for a time. Yang's husband, who was also a Samsung Electronics employee, is reported to have acquired employee stock ownership as well.

Yang said, "Although I was poorly paid as a research assistant, I stood with the company through difficult times," adding, "The fruits of overcoming hardships together with the company are now being returned to our society through taxes. I hope the funds will be used well."

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