Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong found not guilty in first trial, appeal trial begins for alleged unfair merger - South Korean media

The second trial of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Je-Yeon, who is indicted on charges of masterminding the illegal merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, is about to begin.
The 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court will begin a trial on the 27th at 3 p.m. with Chairman Lee, who was indicted on charges of violating the Capital Market and Financial Investment Business Act.
The first hearing for the appeal hearing for 14 people, including Samsung Group's head of the Future Strategy Office, will be held. Chairman Lee took over Samsung in 2015 under the direction of the Future Strategy Office in order to succeed management rights.
He was indicted in September 2020 on suspicion of planning and promoting the merger of Daiichi Wool Textile and Daiichi Bussan, and of committing accounting fraud and fraudulent transactions in the process.
The prosecution said Lee and the Future Strategy Office were trying to harm Samsung C&T.
Chairman Lee was sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of 500 million yen for deciding on the merger despite knowing the facts, and for leading the spread of false information, concealment of important information, publication of false positive information, market manipulation, and false disclosures at the merger stage.
The prosecution had sought a fine of 57.4 million won (approximately 57.4 million yen). In February, three years and five months after he was indicted, the Seoul Central District Court, which heard the first instance trial, acquitted Chairman Lee of all 19 charges.
At the time, the court ruled that Chairman Lee and others who were indicted on suspicion of violating laws related to capital markets and financial investment businesses were not guilty of any crimes, and that the prosecution's charges did not prove any criminality.
The ruling led to a verdict of innocence, saying, "I cannot do that." All former and current executives of Samsung Electronics, including former Director of Future Strategy Office Choi, who was indicted alongside Chairman Lee, were also acquitted.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office filed an appeal against the first-instance ruling. The prosecution said, "The purpose of the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries was to take over the control of the group.
The judgment in question differs greatly from the first instance judgment in terms of the objectives and circumstances, evidentiary judgment regarding accounting fraud and fraudulent trading, factual findings, and legal judgments, and the judgment in question previously approved the "succession process" of the group's control.
"There are many discrepancies with the original ruling," the court explained, adding, "We filed the appeal in order to achieve uniformity in the determination of facts and interpretation of laws and regulations and to correct this."