South Korea’s highest court has declared Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong not guilty of fraud, ending years of legal drama around a major 2015 business merger.
Lee Jae-yong, who heads the world’s biggest smartphone maker, was found innocent on Friday after the Supreme Court dismissed all fraud claims. This verdict lets Lee focus on Samsung’s future without further courtroom distractions.
Lee became Samsung’s top leader in 2014 after his father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a stroke. In 2015, Lee pushed forward a big merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, two major Samsung units. Prosecutors said Lee and his team illegally boosted the value of Samsung Biologics, part of Cheil, by more than $2.8 billion. They argued this move gave Lee tighter control over Samsung C&T, strengthening his grip on the company at the expense of investors.
But courts remained on Lee’s side. He was cleared of all 19 charges, including stock manipulation and accounting fraud, by two lower courts earlier this year. After a long appeal, the Supreme Court agreed there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
“Today, the Supreme Court has clearly confirmed that the merger … and the accounting treatment of Samsung Biologics were lawful,” Lee’s legal team said. “We sincerely thank the court for its wise judgment following a thorough five-year trial process.”
This isn’t Lee’s first run-in with the law. In 2017, he was jailed for bribery to secure his place at the top of Samsung after his father’s illness. He served 18 months before being released on parole in 2021, receiving a presidential pardon so he could help South Korea recover from COVID-19.
The verdict comes when Samsung is facing big threats, from falling sales to rivals like SK Hynix, TSMC, and Apple. Lee admitted in court this year that things “are harder than ever,” but promised to push forward. .
