Supreme Court finalizes acquittal of Samsung chief in 2015 merger case

Samsung Chairman Jay Y. Lee. (Yonhap)

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee broke free from his “judicial shackles” after a decade spent fighting allegations of corporate wrongdoing.

The Supreme Court on Thursday finalized the not-guilty verdict for Lee on charges related to unfair merger practices and accounting fraud. The court also finalized the acquittals of 13 other individuals, including Choi Gee-sung, former head of Samsung Group’s now-disbanded control tower Future Strategy Office (FSO), Kim Jong-joong, former head of the FSO strategy team, and Jang Chung-ki, former deputy head at FSO.

The verdict came about four years and 10 months after prosecutors first indicted the case in September 2020, and around five months after the appellate court’s decision in February 2025. The court found that the intent and illegality behind the 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates, Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T Corp., as well as the alleged accounting fraud at Samsung Biologics Co., were not sufficiently proven, which led to the not-guilty verdict.

Lee was prosecuted on charges of engaging in illicit transactions and market manipulation orchestrated by the FSO during the merger process to facilitate his succession and strengthen his control over the group. He was also accused of involvement in a 4.5 trillion-won ($3.23 billion) accounting fraud at Samsung Biologics to inflate the value of Cheil Industries, in which he held a major stake.

“The Supreme Court’s final verdict clearly confirms the legality of the Samsung C&T merger and Samsung Biologics’ accounting practices,” Samsung’s legal team said of the ruling. “We are sincerely grateful to the court for its wise judgment after five years of thorough review.”

In business circles, there is growing anticipation that Lee will now fully lead a new era for Samsung Group. It is expected that the conglomerate will resume intensive investments, push to secure new customers, and rebuild its supply chain in the semiconductor sector that has been stagnant.

Economic organizations also issued statements after the verdict, with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry saying, “Amid fierce global competition in advanced industries, the resolution of Samsung Group’s management risk is expected to have a positive ripple effect not only on the group but also on the Korean economy as a whole.”