Former Samsung Union Chairman Sanghoon Lee Acquitted of 'Illegal Evidence Collection' Charges (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Former Samsung Electronics Board Chairman Lee Sang-hoon, who was prosecuted for involvement in union-busting operations at a subsidiary, was acquitted. Lee was sentenced to prison and detained in the first trial, but was found not guilty in the appellate court.

On the 4th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Park Jeong-hwa) upheld the appellate court's ruling that acquitted Lee, who was prosecuted for violating the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act.

Lee and others were indicted for allegedly devising the so-called 'Greenification' strategy led by Samsung Group's Future Strategy Office HR Support Team in 2013 to disrupt the establishment of a union at Samsung Electronics Service. They were accused of organizing a comprehensive situation room and carrying out oppressive acts such as wage cuts, discriminatory treatment, and targeted audits.

The key issue in the Supreme Court's ruling was the 'scope of the search warrant.' The appellate court had acquitted Lee, acknowledging the illegal acts to dismantle the union but ruling that the evidence proving Lee's guilt was collected unlawfully. The investigation into Lee and others began after Samsung tried to hide hard disks from their office during the investigation of former President Lee Myung-bak's bribery charges, which was uncovered. The appellate court considered the evidence obtained this way to be illegal.

The Supreme Court's judgment was no different. The court stated, "The electronic information and printouts in this case were seized in violation of the territorial scope of the warrant, and the obligation to present the warrant was also violated, infringing on the principle of warrant, the Constitution, and the substantial content of due process as prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Act, thus the evidence was obtained unlawfully." It added that this case does not fall under exceptions where the evidence could be admissible.

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