Samsung awaits final court decision today

Keen attention is being drawn to the Supreme Court`s ruling today on Samsung Group`s alleged wrongdoing involving the transfer of managerial rights.

The top court will hand down its ruling on whether Samsung management illicitly caused monetary damage to the company by issuing convertible bonds and bonds with warrants at cheap prices in an attempt to transfer managerial rights.



Though the court considered postponing the ruling, having in mind today`s funeral ceremony of former President Roh Moo-hyun who committed suicide Saturday, the ruling is to take place as originally planned due to its crucial social significance, said court officials.

Should the court rule in favor of the management, the conglomerate will be freed, on Roh`s funeral day, from the long legal fight which was put into full investigation under the former president`s administration.

In the original ruling last October, the Seoul High Court handed down a suspended sentence of three years and a fine of 110 billion won ($86.8 million) to former Chairman Lee Kun-hee for tax evasion.

The court, however, cleared him of charges of illicit securities transactions back in 1996 when he attempted to escape taxes while moving his managerial powers to Lee Jae-yong, his only son and senior vice president of Samsung Electronics.

"Samsung management does not appear to have caused monetary damage to the company (by issuing the cheap bonds in question)," said the presiding judge at the Seoul High Court in the ruling which was greatly in favor of the group.

In the original ruling last July, the lower court similarly accused Lee of tax evasion only, sparing him the charges of causing damage to the company with his father-to-son management succession attempt.

Samsung has so far made no official response related to the case.

The present "Samsung Everland case" kicked up in court with the case of Her Tae-hak and Park No-bin, respectively former and present chief executive of Everland, who were indicted in 2003 for leading the allegedly illicit issuance of bonds.

Though Her and Park were acquitted of their charges, their case resulted in a separate case, led by an independent counsel, which then brought Lee under prosecutorial investigation.

By Bae Hyun-jung



(tellme@heraldm.com)