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Disgraced Samsung boss walks free from prison
The heir to South Korea's largest company has avoided a lengthy spell in prison after a court suspended his sentence. Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee was initially meant to spend five years behind bars after being found guilty of bribing public officials. Now, after spending close to a year in detention he has been released although he will spend the next four years on probation.
Samsung leader will be indicted for bribery and embezzlement
Following his arrest, Samsung Vice-Chairman Lee Jae-yong will be indicted on charges of bribery, embezzlement and two other crimes, according to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. It's the start of legal proceedings that could put Lee in jail for years, stalling a planned succession due to his father's heart attack and hospitalization. Four other executives were charged, including Corporate Strategy Office Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung and President Chang Choong-ki.
Samsung's US reputation plummets after Note 7 mess
In 2015, Harris Poll ranked Samsung third in its US Reputation Quotient report, ahead of Apple, and rated it number seven last year. Thanks to the recall and eventual withdrawal of its exploding Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and arrest of CEO-in-waiting Lee Jae-yong, however, the company has tumbled to number 49. The poll, conducted between November 28th and December 16th, 2016, queried 30,519 US adults on areas like social responsibility, products & services and workplace environment.
Samsung boss won't face arrest, at least for now
Samsung just dodged a bullet... for a while, anyway. A South Korean court has dismissed a warrant to arrest the company's Vice Chairman and de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, in an investigation alleging that Samsung paid the President's scandal-ridden confidant to illegally secure approval for a merger. There's just not enough evidence to suggest that an arrest is needed, according to the judge. While this doesn't guarantee that Lee is completely off the hook, he won't have to worry about jail time in the foreseeable future.
Samsung leader faces arrest in South Korea
Samsung's past several months have been pretty lousy, but they're about to get much, much worse. South Korean prosecutors have announced that they're seeking a warrant to arrest Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong (aka Jay Y. Lee), the electronics giant's effective leader, over accusations of bribery and other misdeeds. Investigators allege that Lee was involved in payments made to Choi Soon-sil, an ally of the country's impeached President with cultish control, in a supposed bid to clinch approval for a merger.
Samsung boss is a suspect in a South Korean political scandal
South Korea is currently embroiled in a massive corruption scandal: President Park Geun-hye is facing impeachment after word broke that her 'friend,' Choi Soon-sil, had cult-like control over Park that included access to sensitive info and forced donations to Choi's foundations. And now, it looks like Samsung's highest leadership might be caught up in the whole affair. The country's special prosecutor's office has named effective Samsung leader Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong (aka Jay Y. Lee) as a suspect in a case alleging that Samsung illegally influenced government decisions. Investigators are worried that roughly $25 million in payments to a Choi business and foundations may have convinced the national pension fund to support a merger of two Samsung affiliate companies. It may have offered bribes, in other words.
Samsung considers steps to keep its ruling family in power
Samsung has always been a family-run company, and it's apparently bent on keeping things that way. As part of sweeping plans to reward investors (more on that in a bit), the South Korean tech giant says that it's considering the creation of a "holding company structure." It's not certain how this would work, but analysts believe that this would give greater control to vice chairman Lee Jae-yong (son of chairman Lee Kun-hee) and his sisters Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun, all of whom play crucial roles in the company. They wouldn't have to worry as much about losing influence.
Samsung's hurried Galaxy Note 7 recall doomed the phone
You knew it was just a matter of time before some of the drama behind the death of the Galaxy Note 7 came to light, and what we're seeing isn't all that pretty. Wall Street Journal sources claim that Samsung's mobile chief DJ Koh thought there was enough evidence (protrusions in the batteries from one supplier) to go ahead with the speedy initial recall. He thought it was best to do "the right thing" and start a recall, insiders say, even though there was incomplete evidence. The company didn't want to leave people in the dark, worrying what was wrong. And while there was a debate about the seriousness of the issue (some even suspected the fires were fake), it's not as if Koh was a lone wolf. Company heir and vice chairman Lee Jae-yong was also in favor of the hasty recall, possibly due to his push for greater transparency at a company known for its secrecy.
Chairman's son promoted to president of the Samsung Electronics gang
And so it goes. Samsung Electronics' Chairman, aka The Notorious Lee Kun-hee, has just seen his son Lee Jae-yong promoted to the position of president of the chaebol kingdom. Lee previously served as executive VP in the flagship arm of the Samsung Group conglomerate. As if that wasn't enough nepotism, Lee's little sis was promoted to the position of president of Everland, a Samsung-owned theme park / resort operator. Naturally, Samsung stock closed at a record high on the news.
