Samsung Electronics internal conflicts are the talk of the town this day as the de facto head and heir to Samsungs business will be released from prison on parole this Friday after he has served 6 months of a 30-month sentence.
The current head of Samsung is the company’s vice chairman, Lee Jae-Young, the son of Lee Kun-Hee the original head of Samsung that passed away after a heart attack in 2014. the vice-chairman was sentenced to 30 months of prison for attempting to bribe now-ousted former South Korean President Park Guen-Hye, as well as a friend of hers, with payments and horses during a succession scandal following his father’s 2014 heart attack.
The current release of Lee Jae-Young is related to the continuous pressure which Samsung is experiencing from the US companies. This is because the South Korean tech giant is currently eyeing to establish itself as a potential American Semiconductor fab.
This all started when the Biden administration announced its own 50 billion dollar plan in light of the ongoing semiconductor shortage. Since Samsung is one of the largest chipmakers in the world, the company is currently investigating building semiconductor fabs in Austin where it already holds a fab to its name and then later in Phoenix and New York.
Since the current situation of Samsung is related to the American investments, the American Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to current South Korean President Moon Jae-In expressing that “We believe a pardon of the most important executive of Samsung is in the best interest of both the US and Korea.”
However, according to Korean law inmates have to serve at least 70% of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole, but Lee’s parole breaks that rule. But hey all is well if businessmen are involved. The Justice Ministry said ahead of Lee’s release that it would “make it easier for prisoners with good behaviour to apply for parole.”
But many activists gathered outside the Justice Ministry while Lee’s parole was being deliberated, and protesting against leniency toward corrupt business tycoons.
