Lee Jae-yong Attends 80 Hearings in State Manipulation Trial... Silent to Questions

Samsung Compliance Monitoring Committee Expert Panel Scheduled to Present Opinions

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is heading to the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 7th to attend the retrial hearing on bribery charges related to the state affairs manipulation case.
Photo by Lee Ki-min victor.lee@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong appeared at the retrial of the state affairs manipulation case on the 7th. On the day Lee attended his 80th trial related to the state affairs manipulation, attention was focused as the expert evaluation results of the Samsung Compliance Committee, which will be reflected in the sentencing, were scheduled to be announced.

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Jung Jun-young) will hold a retrial hearing on bribery charges related to the state affairs manipulation against Lee at 2:05 p.m. on the 7th.

Before the trial, Lee arrived at the Seoul Court Complex in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the Seoul High Court is located, at around 1:37 p.m. When reporters asked, "Do you think the Compliance Committee's evaluation is effective?" and "Have you heard the expert evaluation from Kim Kyung-soo, former Daegu High Prosecutor, who is an expert committee member?" Lee remained silent and headed to the courtroom.

The court plans to hear statements from expert committee members who evaluated the effectiveness and sustainability of the Compliance Committee during the trial. The court, prosecution, and Lee's side designated former Constitutional Court Justice Kang Il-won, accountant Hong Soon-tak, and former High Prosecutor Kim as expert committee members last month.

The expert committee members have reviewed activity materials provided by the Compliance Committee and conducted interviews with Kim Ji-hyung, chairman of the Compliance Committee. On the 3rd, they also submitted a detailed expert evaluation report spanning several dozen pages to the court. The report submitted under former Justice Kang's name is known to include expert opinions from former Prosecutor Kim and accountant Hong as well.

Earlier, when the retrial began in October last year, the court ordered Lee to establish a compliance system within Samsung as a factor to be reflected in sentencing. In response, Samsung launched the Compliance Committee chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Kim Ji-hyung in January this year.

The Compliance Committee has recommended apologies regarding issues such as unauthorized access to employee support accounts, succession, labor, and communication with civil society. Samsung and Lee accepted these recommendations and issued official apologies.

Additionally, the committee played a certain role in facilitating an agreement between Samsung and dismissed worker Kim Yong-hee, who was on a high-altitude protest. Furthermore, over the past year, the committee has monitored internal transactions exceeding 5 billion KRW among Samsung affiliates and conducted compliance education for employees.

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