Lee Jae-yong Will Not Return as Registered Director...Excluded from the Shareholders' Meeting Agenda (Comprehensive)

Samsung Electronics to Hold Regular General Meeting of Shareholders on the 15th of Next Month
Chairman Lee Jae-yong's Return as Registered Director Faces Caution

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Pyeonghwa and Park Seonmi] Samsung Electronics will not address the agenda item of appointing Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong as a registered director at the regular shareholders' meeting to be held next month. In the business community, this is seen as a decision considering Chairman Lee's judicial risks.

Samsung Electronics announced on the 14th that it will hold the 54th regular shareholders' meeting on the 15th of next month at the Suwon Convention Center in Gyeonggi-do. At the board meeting held that morning, the date of the shareholders' meeting and agenda items were resolved and disclosed accordingly.

At this shareholders' meeting, the agenda items to be presented include ▲appointment of inside director Han Jong-hee ▲approval of financial statements ▲approval of director remuneration limits. Since the term of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee as a registered executive expires on the 17th of next month, the agenda to reappoint him as an inside director will be addressed. The agenda item for appointing Chairman Lee as a registered director, which was expected to be a key issue at this year's shareholders' meeting, was not included.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Previously, there were expectations in the business community that Chairman Lee might return as a registered director to strengthen responsible management. If appointed as a registered director, he would bear legal responsibility for corporate management as a member of the board of directors. However, since the judicial risks have not yet been fully resolved, there was also a prospect that he would continue as chairman in a non-registered executive status rather than making a forced transition.

In fact, many owners in the business community hold chairman positions as non-registered executives. SK Chairman Chey Tae-won participates in management as a non-registered chairman at key affiliates such as SK Telecom, SK Hynix, and SK Innovation. CJ Chairman Lee Jae-hyun is also a non-registered executive. Hanwha Chairman Kim Seung-yeon is engaged in management activities as a non-registered executive at Hanwha Corporation, Hanwha Solutions, Hanwha Construction, and others.

As Chairman Lee places emphasis on resolving judicial risks first, criticism regarding avoidance of responsibility is expected to continue in the future. He has been criticized for exercising enormous authority and influence in corporate decision-making processes while avoiding legal responsibility.

Chairman Lee was appointed as an inside director through an extraordinary shareholders' meeting in October 2016 during his vice chairman tenure. Subsequently, due to judicial risks arising from the political scandal during the Park Geun-hye administration, he ended his term in October 2019 without reappointment. Currently, he is an unpaid non-registered executive.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics will conduct an online broadcast of this shareholders' meeting. Shareholders who apply in advance can participate in the meeting on a separate site on the day and register questions for each agenda item. However, online voting is not possible, so shareholders must exercise their voting rights in advance through electronic voting or apply for proxy voting. Electronic voting will be conducted from 9 a.m. on the 5th of next month until 5 p.m. on the 14th.

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