Overview

• South Korea’s Supreme Court dismissed the prosecution’s appeal and upheld lower courts’ acquittals of Lee Jae-yong on charges of stock manipulation, breach of duty and accounting fraud in the 2015 merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.
• The final, unappealable verdict ends a decade-long legal saga that began with Lee’s 2020 indictment, removing the last major judicial hurdle to his corporate leadership.
• Samsung’s legal team expressed gratitude to the court, saying the ruling confirmed the legality of the merger and cleared uncertainties around Samsung’s governance.
• Major business lobby groups welcomed the ruling, forecasting that the removal of legal risks will have positive ripple effects on Samsung’s stability and South Korea’s wider economy.
• With legal distractions lifted, Samsung’s management can now focus on long-term initiatives and strategic investments in AI chips and advanced semiconductors.