Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong Case to Be Handled by Judge Jeong Gyeong-shim (Comprehensive)

Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The trial for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong has been assigned to the Criminal Division 25-2 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Lim Jeong-yeop). This division is also handling the case of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University, wife of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk.

The Seoul Central District Court announced on the 3rd, "Vice Chairman Lee's case was assigned to Criminal Division 25-2, one of the economic case-specialized trial divisions, through a random draw." There are four economic case-specialized trial divisions at the Seoul Central District Court: Criminal Division 24 (Chief Judge So Byeong-seok), Criminal Division 25 (Chief Judges Kwon Seong-su, Lim Jeong-yeop, Kim Seon-hee), Criminal Division 28 (Chief Judge Park Nam-cheon), and Criminal Division 34 (Chief Judge Heo Seon-a). Among these, Criminal Division 25 is a collegial panel, and depending on which of the three chief judges presides, it is further divided into 25-1, 25-2, and 25-3 divisions. A court official explained, "Criminal Divisions 25-1, 25-2, and 25-3 are considered as one division for assignment purposes," adding, "According to the assignment order, Vice Chairman Lee's case was assigned to Division 25-2."

Originally, Vice Chairman Lee's case fell under the jurisdiction of a single-judge panel considering the upper limit of the statutory penalties for the applied charges. However, the Seoul Central District Court decided to assign it to a collegial panel due to the complexity of the facts and issues involved. The collegial panel assignment is a procedure where a case that would normally be heard by a single judge is assigned to a panel of three judges after reviewing the nature of the case. The court also stated that Criminal Division 28 was excluded from this assignment due to the cases it is currently handling. A court official said, "Criminal Division 28 is handling the case concerning former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae's abuse of judicial administrative power, so the assignment of other cases to this division is currently suspended."

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Criminal Division 25-2, which will handle Vice Chairman Lee's case, is also responsible for the case of Professor Jeong, who was indicted on charges related to admission fraud and private equity fund suspicions. The presiding judge is Chief Judge Lim Jeong-yeop, and the lead judge is Chief Judge Kwon Seong-su. They will serve respectively as presiding judge and lead judge in Vice Chairman Lee's case as well. The first hearing date for Vice Chairman Lee's case has not yet been set.

Earlier, on the 1st, the prosecution indicted 11 individuals, including Vice Chairman Lee and current and former Samsung executives, without detention on charges such as violation of the Capital Markets Act and breach of trust. The prosecution concluded the 1 year and 9 months investigation, determining that the 2015 merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries was meticulously planned under the leadership of Samsung Group's Future Strategy Office to ensure a stable succession of management rights for Vice Chairman Lee.

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