The pardon is largely symbolic, with Lee already freed after serving 18 months in prison for bribery in a scandal that led to mass protests and ousted then-President Park Geun-hye in 2017. But analysts said the pardon should mean Lee will be able to conduct business with fewer legal restrictions and could herald some big investments from Samsung, the world’s biggest maker of smartphones and memory chips. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “With the urgent needs to overcome the national economic crisis, we have carefully selected economic leaders who lead the national growth engine through active investment in technology and job creation that will be pardoned,” Justice Minister Han Dong-hun said in a briefing. Technology- and export-dependent South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, is struggling with rising inflation, weakening demand, a bad climate and slowing spending. read more Lee, the heir to Samsung’s founding family, welcomed the decision and promised to work hard for the national economy “with continued investment and job creation”. Also thanks to pro-business Yoon, Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin, who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on bribery charges also related to Park. In a statement, Lotte said Shin will also help “overcome the complex global crisis.”
CIVIL CRIMES
Park herself was pardoned late last year by her successor, liberal President Moon Jae-in, who has struggled to live up to campaign vows to clean up business and politics. A survey conducted last month jointly by four pollsters showed that 77% of respondents favored pardoning the Samsung leader, despite earlier protests. “(This support) is obviously due to the current economic situation, but people also seem to have partly thought that Lee was somehow in a position where he could not avoid pressure from the former government,” said Eom Kyeong-young. political commentator based in Seoul. While business groups, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Korea Business Federation, welcomed the pardon for Lee, civil rights groups criticized Yoon’s pardons for businessmen. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee leaves a court in Seoul, South Korea, August 12, 2022. Yonhap via REUTERS read more “The Yoon Suk-yeol government … is ultimately only aiming for a country only for the rich,” People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy said in a statement. Another jailed former president, Lee Myung-bak, was expected to be pardoned after Yun raised the possibility in June, but was ultimately not on the list. He was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 17 years in prison for corruption, embezzlement and bribery.
BACK TO WORK
Analysts have long expected decisions on major projects and investments after Lee’s reinstatement, with company sources saying such decisions should be made by Lee alone. “This removes the employment restriction that Lee was technically under,” said Park Ju-gun, head of research firm Leaders Index. “And projects pursued by Samsung, such as major mergers and acquisitions or investments, could be linked to the pardon.” Even before receiving the presidential pardon, Lee had returned to the limelight, appearing in May with President Yun and US President Joe Biden when they visited Samsung’s Pyeongtaek chip manufacturing facility. He also visited Europe in June to meet with ASML Holding NV ( ASML.AS ) Chief Executive Peter Wennink, discussing the adoption of high-end chip base equipment. read more Last November, Samsung decided to select Taylor, Texas as the site of a new $17 billion chip factory. read more Top Samsung executives hinted earlier this year about possible upcoming acquisition activity. Samsung Electronics hasn’t made a high-profile deal since it completed its $8 billion purchase of audio electronics maker Harman in 2017. Although macroeconomic factors such as slack demand may influence investment decisions, Samsung has a huge war chest. Samsung Electronics’ cash on hand rose slightly to 125 trillion won ($95.13 billion) at the end of June, from 111 trillion won last year. While experts say Lee could now participate more freely in management, his legal problems remain because of an ongoing trial where he faces the risk of going back to prison if convicted on charges of fraud and stock manipulation. Shares in Samsung Electronics closed up 0.5 percent versus 0.2 percent in the benchmark KOSPI (.KS11). Shares of Lotte Corp (004990.KS) fell 0.6%. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Joyce Lee, Soo-hyang Choi, Heekyong Yang; Edited by Lincoln Feast Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
