Second Trial Also Acquits Lee Jae-yong; First Steps Include Meeting and Dinner with Sam Altman

Broad Management Moves Expected at Home and Abroad
Samsung and OpenAI Collaboration Discussions Anticipated
Topics Include AI-Specialized Semiconductors and HBM
Focusing on Regaining Competitiveness and Securing Future Growth
Dinner Meeting Also Planned After Talks
NVIDIA Event Scheduled for the 17th of Next Month
Attention on Possible Reunion with Jensen Huang

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrived at the Seoul Seocho headquarters at 7 a.m. on the 4th, the day after being acquitted in the appellate trial of the 'unfair merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries and accounting fraud at Samsung Biologics' case. It is reported that Chairman Lee received reports on major issues from executives and discussed future management strategies. This move is seen as a signal of his return to management, strengthening internal unity while publicly signaling normal management.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong is attending the appellate trial sentencing hearing on allegations of unfair merger and accounting fraud held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu on the afternoon of the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News

According to industry sources on the 4th, Chairman Lee's first external schedule is likely to be a meeting with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. This meeting is expected to highlight potential cooperation between Samsung and OpenAI in future growth areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and cloud infrastructure. There is also speculation that OpenAI technology may be integrated into Samsung's Galaxy product line. The market's expectations are rising due to Chairman Lee's swift return to management and efforts to strengthen collaboration with the global AI ecosystem.

With the shackles of 'judicial risk' lifted, the semiconductor industry is also keenly watching whether Chairman Lee will meet Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA. Some voices predict a possible meeting at NVIDIA's 'GTC 2025' held in San Jose, California, USA, from the 17th to 21st of next month (local time). GTC is the world's largest AI developer conference where Samsung Electronics exhibited samples of its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) 3E 12-stack products last year and received CEO Huang's autograph on-site.

Until just before the second trial verdict on the 'unfair merger and accounting fraud' case was announced the previous day, Chairman Lee carefully reviewed company performance reports by business sector and planned this year's management direction. Particularly, the semiconductor business's performance fell short of expectations, leading to widespread internal and external assessments that a decisive move is needed to turn the situation around. It is presumed that Chairman Lee also deeply felt this necessity after reviewing the results. Accordingly, the industry places weight on the possibility that Chairman Lee will meet CEO Huang to resolve issues related to HBM, which the company aims to supply, and to establish a new cooperative relationship.

If the meeting between Chairman Lee and CEO Huang takes place next month, it will be the first in 1 year and 10 months. The two last met in May 2023 at a Japanese restaurant called 'Sawasushi' in Silicon Valley, USA, and have not met face-to-face since. Movement was heavily restricted due to judicial risks. Chairman Lee faced difficulties in pursuing global management activities while undergoing prosecution and court trials for the 'unfair merger and accounting fraud' case for about 4 years and 5 months. Since trials were held once or twice a week after indictment, it was difficult to go on long business trips. The short duration of trips made it awkward to arrange meetings with key figures. The long-awaited trip to the U.S. only became possible in June last year, after the first trial acquittal and before the second trial began, when things became somewhat more relaxed.

Meanwhile, it is reported that Chairman Lee had no opportunity to meet CEO Huang due to various circumstances. Although several attempts to arrange a meeting were considered, it did not materialize due to scheduling conflicts. It is also rumored that during Chairman Lee's U.S. trip in June last year, the meeting was canceled because CEO Huang had other commitments.

However, with the acquittal in the second trial of the 'unfair merger and accounting fraud' case the day before, Chairman Lee is now free to travel abroad. With the obstacle of trial schedules removed, he can now enjoy sufficient flexibility in arranging trips and meetings. Attention is focused on whether Chairman Lee will now actively seek to meet CEO Huang under these favorable conditions.

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