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| Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, right, walks with Kim Ki-nam, center, CEO of the company's Device Solutions division, and other executives during their visit to its chip plant in Onyang, South Chungcheong Province, Aug. 6, 2019. Samsung's compliance committee said Thursday Lee should apologize to the people for raising a series of problems regarding the group's management succession. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung Group leader and Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong has been asked to issue a public apology over both alleged and confirmed illegal activities surrounding the group's succession plan, the company-organized compliance committee said, Wednesday.
"Samsung's compliance committee sent recommendations to seven Samsung affiliates including Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI and Samsung SDS, in addition to Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. Some core recommendations included asking Samsung vice chairman Lee to make his public apology over past events relating to the group's succession plan," the committee leader Kim Ji-hyung said in a statement.
The recommendations came a few days after the committee decided three issues ― unions, management succession and communication with civic organizations ― would form its core agenda to improve Samsung's overall business compliance. At the time of the decision, the committee's leader told reporters it would deliver its recommendations asking the group to be more forward thinking on these issues.
"In terms of an agenda for management succession, we believe all past controversial events were relevant to the group's succession plan. There were illegal activities, therefore Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is asked to make a public apology and commit to not to breaking the law again," Kim said in the release, adding that the seven Samsung affiliates and Lee are required to reply to the request by April 10.
Vice chairman Lee was released from jail, last year. The Supreme Court overturned the ruling by a lower court that suspended Lee's prison sentence and ordered his case to be retried. The court said Samsung hadn't been extorted by a confidante of the impeached Park, when it gave her daughter three horses. The gift of horses acted as bribes that were meant to ensure government approval of the controversial merger between Samsung affiliates, which was a part of an ambitious plan to ensure a transfer or wealth and control to Samsung Vice Chairman Lee from his father.
The Samsung compliance committee also said it also recommended to Samsung affiliates to specify details on how to better protect the best interests of shareholders.
"Regarding the union issue, the committee is asking the affected parties to fully guarantee the activities of labor union(s) and for them to make public apologies for mismanagement in terms of breaking the relevant labor laws several times. Specifically, the committee asked Samsung vice chairman Lee to officially drop his long-time 'no-labor policy,'" committee head Kim said.
