{"id":5445,"date":"2025-07-18T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/54.162.83.219\/?p=5445"},"modified":"2025-07-17T22:47:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T05:47:04","slug":"lee-jae-yong-acquitted-of-all-charges-in-merger-and-accounting-fraud-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guru.today\/?p=5445","title":{"rendered":"Lee Jae-yong Acquitted of All Charges in Merger and Accounting Fraud Case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"546\" src=\"http:\/\/54.162.83.219\/wp-content\/uploads\/\uc0bc\uc131-1024x546.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/guru.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/\uc0bc\uc131-1024x546.png 1024w, https:\/\/guru.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/\uc0bc\uc131-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/guru.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/\uc0bc\uc131-768x410.png 768w, https:\/\/guru.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/\uc0bc\uc131.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Photo=Samsung)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics \u2014 a company recognized as a global leader in semiconductors, mobile devices, and home appliances \u2014 was acquitted by South Korea\u2019s Supreme Court on Wednesday of all charges over alleged unfair merger practices and accounting fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At 11:15 a.m. on Thursday, July 17, the Supreme Court\u2019s third panel, presided over by Justice Oh Seok-jun, dismissed appeals by prosecutors seeking to overturn Lee\u2019s earlier acquittals. Lee did not appear in court for the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The court stated, \u201cThere was no violation of the principles of free evaluation of evidence or any misinterpretation of the Capital Markets Act or External Audit Act in the lower court\u2019s ruling,\u201d affirming that no further deliberation was needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thirteen other former Samsung executives, including Choi Ji-sung, Kim Jong-joong, and Jang Choong-ki, who were indicted alongside Lee, were also cleared of all charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lee was indicted in September 2020 over allegations that he orchestrated the 2015 merger of Samsung C&amp;T and Cheil Industries to secure management control at a minimal cost, and that he was involved in illicit stock manipulation and accounting irregularities through Samsung\u2019s Future Strategy Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both the district and appellate courts had previously acquitted Lee of all charges, rejecting the prosecution\u2019s request for a five-year prison sentence and a fine of about $359,160. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The courts also ruled that evidence obtained from Samsung BioLogics and Samsung Bioepis servers had been collected unlawfully and was inadmissible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first trial in February last year dismissed all 19 charges, and the second trial earlier this year acquitted him on all 23 charges, including additional allegations. Prosecutors appealed, but the Supreme Court upheld the not-guilty verdicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Samsung\u2019s legal team welcomed the ruling, saying, \u201cThe Supreme Court has clearly confirmed the legality of the Samsung C&amp;T merger and Samsung BioLogics\u2019 accounting practices. We are deeply grateful to the court for its fair judgment after five years of thorough deliberation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Business groups also expressed support. Lee Sang-ho, head of the Korea Economic Association\u2019s industry division, said the ruling would allow Samsung to focus on technological innovation and strengthen its global competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He added, \u201cAmid growing global trade tensions and competition in advanced industries, strategic investment and swift decision-making by corporations are crucial to overcoming economic challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We urge lawmakers and the government to improve regulations and provide bold support so that Korean companies can succeed in the global market.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics \u2014 a company recognized as a global leader in semiconductors, mobile devices,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38,34,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-stories","category-opinion-insights","category-top-section"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lee Jae-yong Acquitted in Samsung Merger Fraud Case<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lee Jae-yong was acquitted of all merger and fraud charges by Korea\u2019s Supreme Court, clearing Samsung\u2019s chairman after years of legal battle.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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