Samsung’s de facto leader will be prosecuted for accounting fraud and several violations of the law on capital markets.
“Lee Jae-yong and Samsung’s Future Strategy Office had thorough plans to make Lee the Group’s successor and to gain more control over the Group at the lowest possible cost. They decided to force a merger of Cheil Industries, in which Lee has the most shares, with Samsung C&T at the time most advantageous to Lee.”
There are ten other executives who’ve been indicted as well, such as Choi Gee-sung and Kim Jong-joong, who led what was then the Group’s most powerful organization, the Future Strategy Office.
The specific charges include spreading false information, failing to make required disclosures, making misleading official statements, and bribing major shareholders.
They allegedly did this to facilitate the merger of two Group affiliates, Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.
The defendants are also accused of inflating the value of Samsung Bioepis, a joint venture between Samsung Biologics and a U.S.-based bio company.
All this, prosecutors say, put the heir a step closer to complete control over the country’s largest conglomerate.
In response to the indictment, Lee Jae-yong’s legal team denied the accusations, saying the merger was a business decision that was executed legally.
Furthermore, they said an indictment was always the goal of the prosecution even before the probe began.
The prosecution seems to be confident in its decision, however, having built its case by consulting with experts in a wide range of related industries.
One of the richest men in Korea, Lee Jae-yong, is no stranger to judicial proceedings.
He’s still on trial for corruption in a case related to the impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.
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