Court acquits Samsung chief

[Anchor]

The 'Integrated Samsung C&T',' which is at the top of Samsung Group's governance structure, was created in 2015 through the merger of Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T.

At the heart of the illegal succession of management rights allegations is the claim that various illegal acts were committed to strengthen Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s control during the merger process.

At that time, the prosecution judged that the stock price of Cheil Industries, of which Chairman Lee was the largest shareholder, was inflated, while the stock price of Samsung C&T, in which he had no shares, was intentionally lowered.

It is alleged that Samsung concealed the negative news of Samsung Biologics, a subsidiary of Cheil Industries, and committed fraud by hiding facts such as overseas construction contracts of Samsung C&T.

The prosecution stated that through this process, Chairman Lee was able to become the largest shareholder of Samsung C&T and dominate the group at minimal cost, and thus brought the case to trial.

However, following last year's first trial, the court's judgment on the suspicion of illegal succession of management rights in this second trial was also not guilty.

Reporter Shin Hyun-wook reports.

[Report]

The Seoul High Court today (2.3) acquitted Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

This comes one year after the first trial's not guilty verdict was announced.

[Lee Jae-yong/Samsung Electronics Chairman: "(Did you not anticipate the damage to shareholders?) ..."]

The key charges against him are unfair merger and accounting fraud.

The court ruled on the unfair merger charge that "the merger was decided through coordination between Samsung C&T, Cheil Industries, and the Samsung Future Strategy Office," and concluded that "it is difficult to see that the merger was decided without the will of the two companies."

Regarding the issue of false disclosures and accounting fraud allegations concerning Samsung Biologics, which was one of the key points, the court did not accept the prosecution's claims.

In August of last year, the Seoul Administrative Court found that there were some issues with the accounting treatment of Samsung Biologics, which was a subsidiary of Cheil Industries, contrary to the first trial's judgment, and the prosecution amended the indictment to reflect this.

However, the appellate court ruled that "it cannot be concluded that the company's financial statement processing was beyond discretion," thus finding him not guilty.

[Kim Yoo-jin/Lawyer for Lee: "I hope that this ruling will allow the defendants to focus on their original duties."]

The prosecution stated that it will closely analyze the appellate court's ruling and consider whether to appeal.

KBS News, Shin Hyun-wook.