Samsung Compliance Committee to Announce 2nd Term Chair This Week... Chairman Kim Ji-hyung Steps Down

Jihyung Kim, Chairman of the Samsung Compliance Monitoring Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Samsung Compliance Committee will appoint a new chairman this week following the announcement that Chairman Kim Jihyung, whose term ends at the end of January next year, will not seek reappointment.

According to business circles on the 22nd, the Samsung Compliance Committee will announce the second-term chairman to succeed Chairman Kim this week. It is reported that Samsung and the Compliance Committee have recently been independently searching for a successor who can oversee Samsung's compliance. The successor is expected to be a legal professional, like Chairman Kim.

Chairman Kim was appointed as the inaugural chairman when the committee was launched in February last year and is credited with laying the foundation of the Compliance Committee. In particular, he is recognized by the business community for leading initiatives such as Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's public apology, the abolition of union-free management, and the abandonment of the fourth-generation succession, thereby establishing the groundwork for Samsung's compliance management.

Earlier this year, when Vice Chairman Lee was detained by the court, questions were raised about the effectiveness of the Samsung Compliance Committee. However, the committee firmly rebutted these concerns by stating, "Regardless of the court's ruling, we will continue to fulfill our duties and prove our effectiveness through results." Since then, the committee has consistently held regular meetings to carry out monitoring activities and mentioned the task of restructuring Samsung's governance as a follow-up issue in its annual report released in September.

When the chairman is replaced, there is a possibility that the existing first-term members will also change. Once the second-term chairman and members are decided, the Samsung Compliance Committee will operate under the second-term system starting February next year after obtaining board approvals from seven companies that have agreements with the committee, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance.

Chairman Kim and the first-term members will step down after the Compliance Committee meeting scheduled for January 18 next year. The committee also plans to hold an expert forum on corporate compliance systems (tentative name) in January next year.

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