Lee Jae-yong Appears in State Manipulation Retrial for the Second Time This Month... 'Silent Response'

Second Court Appearance This Month Following the 9th
Evidence Examination on Sentencing... Possible Expert Panel Opinion on Samsung Compliance Committee

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is heading to the courtroom on the afternoon of the 23rd at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to attend the retrial of the 'state affairs manipulation' case.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong appeared at the retrial hearing on bribery and other charges related to the state affairs manipulation on the 23rd. In this hearing, evidence investigation related to sentencing will be held, and there is a possibility that opinions from the Samsung Compliance Committee’s expert panel will be presented, so a fierce battle is expected.

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1 (Chief Judge Jung Jun-young) will conduct the continued trial of Vice Chairman Lee, who was indicted on charges including bribery, at around 2:05 p.m. that day. This is the second time this month that Lee has appeared in court, following the hearing on the 9th.

Dressed in a black coat, Vice Chairman Lee arrived at the Seoul Court Complex in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the Seoul High Court is located, at around 1:36 p.m. Reporters asked Lee about his feelings ahead of the trial and his evaluation of the Compliance Committee’s activities, but he remained silent and headed to the courtroom.

The court plans to conduct documentary evidence investigation related to sentencing as part of the renewal of trial procedures that day. The trial procedures were renewed due to a change in the composition of the judges during the trial suspension. This was because the special prosecution team led by Park Young-soo requested to conduct the documentary evidence investigation again.

The special prosecution team argued at the hearing on the 9th that Lee’s sentencing in the previous appellate trial before the Supreme Court’s retrial was lighter compared to other bribery cases. Lee was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 4-year probation in the appellate trial. However, the Supreme Court’s full bench last August acquitted some bribery amounts and remanded the case for retrial.

In contrast, Lee’s side insists that “it was difficult to refuse due to coercion by former President Park Geun-hye, and the donations were for the development of sports culture rather than for personal gain,” arguing that the context of Lee’s case is completely different from other bribery cases.

Although the court said it would hear opinions from the expert panel on the Compliance Committee at the hearing on the 30th, the business and legal communities expect that some of the opinions may be disclosed during this trial. Both Lee’s side and the special prosecution team have already submitted the evaluation items of the Compliance Committee to the court. Additionally, the expert panel conducted a meeting last week with Compliance Committee Chairman Kim Ji-hyung and others.

In particular, it is known that one of the three panel members, former Constitutional Court Justice Kang Il-won, recently submitted a written opinion to the court. However, Kang’s opinion may contain views on the evaluation procedures or methods rather than on the evaluation of the Compliance Committee itself.

Meanwhile, a complainant who shouted loudly while watching Lee’s court appearance was ordered to leave by court security due to disturbance inside the Seoul Court Complex but refused and continued shouting, resulting in a police complaint.

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