James Kim, AmCham Chairman, "Regretful about Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's Detention"

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is attending the retrial sentencing hearing of the state affairs manipulation case held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 18th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] James Kim, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM), expressed regret over the detention of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

At a New Year's press conference held online on the 19th, when asked about his stance on Vice Chairman Lee's detention, Chairman Kim said, "It is a unique case in Korea, and it is regrettable."

He stated, "It shows how much responsibility a CEO bears in Korea," adding, "This incident demonstrates how much foreign businesspeople need to understand Korean regulations and how much they need to understand their employees to conduct business activities in Korea."

He continued, "Samsung is an important company both in Korea and in the global market," and added, "I expect Samsung to take leadership and continue to act as a global leader."

Earlier, the court sentenced Vice Chairman Lee, who was indicted on charges including bribery, to 2 years and 6 months in prison and ordered his detention in court.

In addition, Chairman Kim mentioned prerequisites to strengthen Korea's economic competitiveness after the COVID-19 pandemic. These include tax burden relief, strengthening labor flexibility, enhancing intellectual property protection, resolving CEO judicial risks, improving policy stability and transparency, global standardization of trade policies, and easing digital regulations.

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