[ad_1]
Vice President Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics is addressing the court to attend the reconsideration trial of the “Gukjeong Nongdan” case held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu on the afternoon of the 30th. [이승환 기자]“I want to pay tribute to my father who respects and respects so much.” Seoul High Court No. 312 was held on the afternoon of the 30th. Samsung Electronics Vice President Lee Jae-yong, who took the defendant’s final statement, has been unable to forget the words for a while, as if the emotions were overwhelming right now. It took him a minute or so to finish this sentence with a shaky, tearful voice.
In his closing statement, Vice President Lee emphasized his commitment to compliance management, referring to the ‘Seungeobu (better than his father)’, which came to light at the late President Lee Kun-hee’s ceremony two months ago. Vice President Lee said, “It is true filial piety to surpass my father.” It contains, “he said.
Vice President Lee continued: “To make Samsung a company that everyone loves and trusts, this is what Jae-yong Lee, my own fisherman and entrepreneur, is after.” “Unfair pressure from outside to change my mindset and company culture and complement the system.” We will create a strict compliance system that can be rejected even if this comes in. “In addition to being successful and developing the achievements and fruits of Established as a world-class company, Samsung is committed to breaking past mistakes and building trust.
With the conclusion of the decision that day, the farewell trial for Vice President Lee to abandon Gukjeong Nongdan’s trial is also nearing the end. While Vice President Lee leaves only the sentencing scheduled for January 18 next year, there is growing concern in business and academia that excessive judicial risk against Lee is firmly holding on to the Korean economy and Samsung.
Vice President Lee has been facing legal risks for more than four years since he began receiving a subpoena in November 2016. He was subpoenaed and investigated by the prosecution ten times, and three times they were examined to determine the actual arrest warrant. The number of times he has attended the trial so far has reached 82, including the trial for the decision to drop Gukjeong Nongdan’s case.
The problem is that this is not all. Starting in January next year, a lawsuit will continue in relation to the illegal merger of Samsung C&T and the alleged fraudulent accounting of Samsung Biologics. This case is expected to take a considerable amount of time, as the case is much more complicated than the Gukjeong Nongdan case, and the evidence record is only 368 volumes and around 190,000 pages. The legal community observes that, in light of the Gukjeong Nongdan case, this trial can also last 3-5 years. That is why there is concern that Samsung is at the crossroads of “10 lost years.”
Business and academic experts note that if Lee is sentenced to prison or more, the management of Samsung Electronics and other Samsung Electronics will not be able to escape the “ routine maintenance ” and therefore the realization of the “ 10 lost years. Samsung ” should be avoided by resolving legal risks.
Seoul National University professor Lee Kyung-mook said, “I can’t even dream of large-scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or trillion-won investment in new facilities,” and said, “To catch up. With TSMC in Taiwan, investment in factories and R&D is inevitable. “He said. Previously, Vice President Lee invested a total of 133 trillion won in R&D and production facilities over 10 years, reaching TSMC, the world’s strongest systems semiconductor foundry (consignment production) by 2030, and achieving the first place in semiconductor systems after memory. 2030` has been revealed.
A Samsung executive who requested anonymity said: “Since Samsung Electronics acquired Harman, an American automotive electronics company for 9.4 trillion won in 2016, there have been no cases of large-scale mergers and acquisitions.” , Samsung Bio’s accounting controversy continued, and it was difficult to conduct large-scale business with confidence. “He added:” I just envy the situation where SK Hynix is acquiring Intel’s NAND flash business for $ 1.3 trillion. won and Hyundai Motors acquires Boston Dynamics. ”
The business community believes that if the judicial risk for Vice President Lee is resolved, it will be a blessing not only for Samsung but also for the national economy in crisis due to Corona 19. In order to prepare for the future, investment in facilities to Large-scale, R&D investment, global mergers and acquisitions are in full swing, and the development of future growth engines domestically will accelerate, such as artificial intelligence (AI), bio, and 5G mobile communications. It is an analysis that will be.
A business official said, “Resolving the legal risk surrounding Samsung, the backbone of the Korean economy, will be a great help to the Korean economy in the face of the Corona 19 uncertainty,” he said. “The entire business community that should play a leadership role in overcoming the first economic crisis could be an opportunity to boost morale,” he said.
[노현 기자 / 이종혁 기자][ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
