Photo = Yonhap News
The Gukjeong Nongdan trial over Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong has come to an end. The only thing left is the judgment of the judgment of the revocation and remand court. Since 2016, when the special prosecutor’s office aimed at Lee, Samsung has paid a severe price. As Vice Chairman Lee was unable to devote himself to management activities, there are many projects with delayed decision-making. Vice-Chairman Lee was subjected to ten rounds of subpoena and three rounds of substantive examination of arrest warrants. He attended the trial more than 80 times.
Some argue that the individual Vice Chairman Lee and the Samsung company are separate. It is the logic that Samsung does not have any problems without this vice chairman. They emphasize that even though Vice-Chairman Lee did not care about management, he is performing well over global companies. But inside and outside Samsung, the opposite voice comes out that it’s not just about the immediate results. It is pointed out that the work of preparing food after 5 or 10 years has not been done properly.
Hyundai Motor Group, led by Chairman Eui-sun Eui-sun, recently bought Boston Dynamics, an American robot company, for 1 trillion won, predicting the transformation into a mobility company. SK Chairman Choi Tae-won is also busy. While challenging the position of the next chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he is preparing for the future by creating a hydrogen business promotion team. This year, SK Hynix acquired the Intel NAND division for 1.30 trillion won. It is the largest in terms of domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&A). LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo also made the achievement of establishing a joint venture for electric vehicle powertrain with Magna, the world’s third largest auto parts maker.
Samsung is the eldest brother of the four major groups, but is passive in discovering future food. After acquiring global electronics company Harman in 2016, there is no deal that could be called a major M&A. Vice-Chairman Lee, the chief decision maker, was stuck when he couldn’t move properly. The problem is in the future. Samsung’s decision-making system could completely stop working if the judge accepts the Supreme Court’s claim and Lee’s jail again. This is the background of concerns that Samsung’s’lost ten years’ could become a reality in the business world.
It should also be taken into account that Vice Chairman Lee and Samsung are faithfully carrying out the’homework’ of the judiciary. In October of last year, the Destruction and Return Tribunal announced that if Samsung strengthens its compliance system, it will reflect it in the sentencing. It was pointed out that an institutional arrangement is needed to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents. In February, Samsung established the’Samsung Compliance Monitoring Committee’, an independent compliance organization. In May, Vice Chairman Lee bowed his head in front of the public and declared a break with the past. He stressed, “I will not hand over the management of Samsung to my children.”
Even taking into account the claim that “it was passive and passive bribery,” Lee’s guilt does not disappear. However, it must be admitted that over the past four years, Vice Chairman Lee and Samsung have paid a considerable price. Neither Samsung nor the national economy will benefit from continuing to question Lee’s fault with a long-lasting fault. Now is the time to release this vice chairman.
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