Samsung’s boss Lee J-Yong has been approved by the apex court of South Korea’s allegations of fraud, the one-year legal battle over his role in the 2015 merger deal ended.
Lee, the grandson of Samsung founder and the real head of the company since 2014, accused Lee of using stock and accounting fraud to gain control of the firm.
In its final judgment, in Seoul, the Supreme Court upheld a convict’s decision, when Lee was acquitted of all allegations in two earlier tests.
The case conducted a comprehensive investigation of technology giants, as the country struggles with corporate corruption scams, which included a group run by its powerful family, known as Chabols.
Samsung lawyers said on Thursday, “Today, the Supreme Court has clearly confirmed through its final verdict that the merger of Samsung C&T and accounting treatment of Samsung Biologics was valid.”
“We honestly thank the court for our intelligent decision after a five -year testing process.”
The prosecutors took and their advisors accused the value of their drug firm, Samsung Biological through fake accounting.
He argued that the high value allowed him to buy a large part of a major Samsung subsidiary in the 2015 merger deal, which secured his succession.
The prosecutors also said that the merger was designed to move the company’s control from Lee’s father, Li Kun-Hey. His father faced his own legal troubles, suffered a heart attack in 2014 and died in 2020.
Chhote Lee was first arrested for bribing former President Park Gune-Hai advisor to smooth his succession in Samsung in 2017.
During his legal problems, he was cut down to the terms of separate prison – due to a particular presidential post when he was on parole from prison.
At that time, the government said that the leader of the country’s largest company needed South Korea’s economic reform in view of the Kovid -19 epidemic.
In 2024, a district court approved all the allegations related to the merger of $ 8BN (£ 5.97bn) between its two subsidiaries.
Lee was again approved after the prosecutors appealed to the case in the High Court.
In the last decade, legal matters have added Samsung’s troubles as it struggles with acute competition.
Samsung Electronics, making smartphones and computer chips with their main businesses, have been facing a decline in sales in recent years.
Another South Korean chip manufacturer, SK Hinix beaten Samsung for profit last year after taking a lead in Artificial Intelligence (AI) chip technology.
During a test last year, Lee admitted that Samsung faces major challenges.
“Facing reality [Samsung] It is more difficult than ever, but I will go away and take one step further, “he said.
US President Donald Trump’s tariff is another possible obstruction to Samsung, which exports a large number of products to the US.
The court’s decision was welcomed by the country’s business community.
The Federation of Korean Industries said in a statement that the ruling Samsung would allow fast decisions to take fast decisions that would help the economy to navigate the trade with the US.
