Samsung Compliance Monitoring Committee Announces Steady Activities... Plans to Monitor by Further Segmenting Risks

Chairman Kim Jihyung "Vice Chairman Lee, Urges Continued Activities Even After Trial Ends"

Former Supreme Court Justice Kim Ji-hyung, appointed as the Chairman of the Samsung Group Compliance Committee (representative lawyer of Jipyung Law Firm), is holding a press conference on the 9th at the Jipyung office in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Attention is focused on how the Samsung Compliance Committee (Compliance Committee), which determined the fate of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, will be operated going forward. The future has become uncertain as the court judged that the activities of the Compliance Committee, which it intended to use as a major basis for sentencing, lack effectiveness. Some in the business community predict that the momentum of the Compliance Committee will weaken due to Vice Chairman Lee’s re-incarceration, which strongly pushed for compliance management.

However, Samsung’s position is clear. Considering the already spreading culture of compliance management within Samsung and the determination of Vice Chairman Lee and the Compliance Committee, the committee is expected to produce steady results. Since last year, Samsung has accepted the Compliance Committee’s recommendations and has actively engaged in labor-management wage and collective bargaining negotiations, carefully scrutinizing and executing external sponsorship funds and internal transactions. This year, starting from the 26th of this month, the Compliance Committee plans to continue conducting interviews with the top executives of Samsung affiliates. Moreover, it intends to further subdivide compliance risks to broaden the scope of monitoring.

Chairman Kim Ji-hyung of the Compliance Committee is also resolute. In a recent private meeting, Chairman Kim stated, "I repeatedly received a promise from Vice Chairman Lee to continue the Samsung Compliance Committee even after the trial ends," adding, "Vice Chairman Lee expressed similar sentiments when the Compliance Committee was first established, during his public apology, and in recent meetings." Chairman Kim conveyed that although the Compliance Committee was created following the court’s order, Vice Chairman Lee’s enthusiasm for spreading compliance management is sincere.

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judges Jeong Jun-young, Song Young-seung, and Kang Sang-wook) also stated, "The Compliance Committee was excluded from sentencing factors because it did not meet effectiveness criteria," but added, "Vice Chairman Lee’s sincerity can be positively evaluated." In his final statement last December, Vice Chairman Lee pledged to guarantee the activities of the Compliance Committee and transform Samsung into a transparent company.

A Samsung official asserted regarding compliance management, "An irreversible change has already begun at Samsung," emphasizing, "There is no going back to the past, nor is that what Vice Chairman Lee desires."

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