First Trial After Lee Jae-yong's Parole... Cross-Examination of Staff from the Presidential Transition Committee Conducted

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is accused of directing unfair practices such as artificially inflating the stock price of Cheil Industries and lowering the stock price of Samsung C&T during their merger process, is attending the continuation of the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 19th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Seongpil Jo and Daehyun Kim] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong appeared in court on the 19th for the trial concerning allegations of unfair merger and accounting fraud. Until now, he had been attending the trial while in custody, but on this day, he appeared in court as a free man. He was released on parole on the 13th. Next month, he faces a trial over allegations of illegal propofol administration.

Appears in court without detention for the first time in 7 months... Personal protection

Vice Chairman Lee arrived at the Seoul Central District Court building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, around 9:40 a.m. on that day. He came in a Genesis EQ900 vehicle, the same one he used on the day of his parole. He wore a black suit, a white dress shirt, and a tie. He did not respond at all to questions from the press regarding controversies such as employment restriction measures.

This was the first time in about seven months since the sentencing hearing of the National Pension Service scandal retrial in January that Vice Chairman Lee appeared in court without being detained. At that time, he was serving a prison sentence of two years and six months after the sentence was finalized. Recently, he was granted parole by the Ministry of Justice on Liberation Day.

Earlier, on the 17th, Lee’s side requested personal protection from the court in preparation for any unforeseen incidents. The court accepted the request, and until Lee entered the courtroom, court staff accompanied him to provide personal protection. This measure is interpreted as a response considering some criticism of Lee’s parole.

Third witness examination... Prosecution first confirmed contact with defense counsel

The trial on this day was the 12th hearing related to Vice Chairman Lee’s allegations of unfair merger and accounting fraud. It began around 10 a.m. under the jurisdiction of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-2 (Presiding Judge Park Jeong-je). This case was filed separately from the National Pension Service scandal, for which Lee received a prison sentence, and the indictment was brought in September last year. Lee is accused of directing unfair acts such as artificially inflating the stock price of Cheil Industries and lowering the stock price of Samsung C&T during the merger process of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.

Choi, who was a member of Samsung’s Future Strategy Office at the time of reviewing the Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries merger, appeared as a witness. He was the third witness in this case. During the direct examination of Choi, the prosecution first asked whether he had contact with defense counsel. Previously, the prosecution argued in a written opinion that considering Lee’s influence, defense attorneys should be prohibited from pre-interviewing witnesses who are employees of affiliated companies. Choi answered, "I have met about two to three times recently for about an hour each time," and the prosecution did not ask further questions on this matter.

The prosecution has been conducting questioning aimed at eliciting answers that Samsung Group’s Future Strategy Office spread false information to inflate Cheil Industries’ stock price and lower Samsung C&T’s stock price during the 2015 merger push. On this day, they maintained the same approach during the examination. On the other hand, the defense has been conducting questioning aimed at eliciting answers that the merger was legally conducted based on business necessity. The defense’s cross-examination of Choi is scheduled for the afternoon.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is accused of directing unfair practices such as artificially inflating the stock price of Cheil Industries and lowering the stock price of Samsung C&T during their merger process, is attending the continuation of the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 19th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Two trials... Parole will be revoked if sentenced to imprisonment or higher

Vice Chairman Lee also faces trial for illegal administration of propofol. Initially, he was summarily indicted with a fine of 50 million won, but as the police investigation expanded the charges, the prosecution requested a formal trial, which the court accepted. The first trial for this case was originally scheduled for this day. However, the defense requested a schedule change considering the trial schedule related to the unfair merger and accounting fraud allegations, and it was postponed to the 7th of next month.

If Vice Chairman Lee is sentenced to imprisonment or higher before July next year, his parole will be revoked. However, it is uncertain whether a sentence of imprisonment or higher will be finalized before July next year regarding the illegal propofol administration allegations. The trial related to the unfair merger and accounting fraud allegations is also expected to take several years until a final verdict is reached due to the complexity of the matter.

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