Sangjang Association "Regret over Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's Guilty Verdict... Negative Impact on Korean Economy"

Not Only Samsung Electronics but Also Medium and Small Enterprises in Mutual Growth Face Adverse Effects

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The Korea Listed Companies Association expressed regret after Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was involved in the political scandal, was sentenced to imprisonment.

The association released a statement containing this message on the 18th.

The association stated, "Despite the tremendous damage to our economy caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the unexpectedly strong economic recovery since the second half of last year was largely supported by the achievements of Vice Chairman Lee in Samsung Electronics' semiconductor and home appliance sectors. We are concerned that the ongoing management uncertainty at Samsung Electronics due to this ruling not only raises worries about the external image and performance of Samsung Electronics, a leading company in our country, but also threatens the survival of numerous medium and small-sized partner companies that coexist with Samsung, potentially causing adverse effects on our economy."

They added, "We extend our condolences to the employees of Samsung Electronics and Vice Chairman Lee, and hope that despite the risks arising from management gaps, they will continue to strive as a driving force of our country's economy."

Earlier, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judges Jeong Jun-young, Song Young-seung, Kang Sang-wook) sentenced Vice Chairman Lee to 2 years and 6 months in prison on the same day on charges including bribery. The court recognized that Vice Chairman Lee was guilty of offering bribes amounting to 8.68 billion KRW from company funds to former President Park Geun-hye and Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil) in exchange for assistance with the succession of Samsung Group's management rights. This ruling follows the Supreme Court's full bench remand decision in October 2019.

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