CRITICISM OVER SAMSUNG HEIR'S APOLOGY REMARKS

[Anchor Lead]

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong made a public apology yesterday, but those who claim to have been persecuted by the conglomerate criticized it as a deception, that lacked sincere apology to the victims and viable solutions.

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​These people claim to have been persecuted by Samsung. A coalition of people wronged by the conglomerate held a press conference and denounced Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong's public apology yesterday.

[Soundbite] "Arrest Lee Jae-yong! Arrest Lee Jae-yong!"

Among the protesters was Kim Yong-hee, who was fired from Samsung twice for trying to form a labor union. He has been protesting on top of a traffic control tower in front of the Samsung building for nearly a year.

[Soundbite] KIM YONG-HEE(FIRED FROM SAMSUNG) : "He's asking for leniency without making any specific apology. It was meant to reduce his sentence. He didn't mention anything about Samsung's victims."

They claimed Lee's apology was a deception that lacked any real solution and sincere apology to those wronged by Samsung.

[Soundbite] LIM MI-RI(PROTESTER AGAINST SAMSUNG) : "There are workers fired from Samsung, cancer patients and displaced residents. If we accept his apology that does not mention them, it means that we accept the fact that the compliance commission is merely a tool for Lee Jae-yong's leniency."

The coalition argues that the Samsung Compliance Commission should not accept Lee's apology.

[Soundbite] HA SEONG-AE(PROTESTER AGAINST SAMSUNG) : "The compliance commission should not accept Lee's apology. The commission should make him apologize directly to the victims and propose solutions."

Meanwhile, the compliance commission issued a statement that assessed Lee's apology as meaningful, which prompted the coalition of victims to call it more shocking than the apology itself.