"‘No Succession Connection’... Fair Trade Commission Mentions Lee Jae-yong 9 Times, Lee Boo-jin 4 Times"

Unproven Involvement of Samsung's Top Executive in Unfair Internal Catering Support
Press Release Mentions Top Executive Family 13 Times... More Than the 8 Mentions of Choi Ji-sung in Prosecution Complaint

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced that there was no involvement of the Samsung family in imposing fines for unfair support of in-house catering at Samsung. However, the related press release mentioned Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong more than 10 times. Because of this, some in the business community are pointing out the contradiction regarding the decision to impose fines for unfair support of Samsung's in-house catering. They say it appears to be an attempt to stigmatize the in-house catering as if it was effectively used for succession.

According to related government departments on the 25th, in the 44-page press release on the 'Samsung in-house catering unfair support sanction' released the day before, Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was mentioned 9 times, and Hotel Shilla President Lee Boo-jin was mentioned 4 times. This was even more than the 8 mentions of former Samsung Future Strategy Office chief Choi Ji-sung, who was specifically identified as leading four companies including Samsung Electronics to unfairly support the catering affiliate Samsung Welstory.

This contradicts the FTC's explanation. In a briefing the day before, the FTC stated, "The connection between Samsung Welstory's unfair support and Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's management succession process has not been proven."

Some criticize the FTC for trying to forcibly link in-house catering with management succession and, despite failing to prove it, pushing the narrative that it was used for succession. They say it is the result of a 'patchwork' style investigation.

The FTC previously decided to impose a fine of 234.9 billion won, the largest ever for unfair support, stating that the Future Strategy Office, Samsung Group's control tower, led the use of Welstory as a funding channel for the merger with Samsung C&T. Samsung C&T, where Vice Chairman Lee is the largest shareholder, received 275.8 billion won in dividends from Welstory between 2015 and 2019, which was used for share buybacks, responding to stock purchase claims, and expanding dividends to appease shareholder opposition. However, the FTC said it did not find a direct connection to Vice Chairman Lee's succession, who holds 18.13% of Samsung C&T shares as the largest shareholder. They also concluded there was no involvement of the Samsung family.

A business official said, "They said it was unrelated to Samsung's management succession, but looking at the FTC's announcement, it seems as if the Samsung family actively used in-house catering for succession," adding, "They say there is circumstantial evidence but no concrete proof, but isn't it irresponsible for the FTC, which should prove allegations based on legal grounds?"

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