US EditionSouth Korea's top court clears Samsung Chairman Lee in 2015 merger fraud case
SOUTH KOREA, JUL 16 – The Supreme Court's final ruling ends a decade of legal uncertainty tied to accusations of bribery and stock manipulation over a $8 billion merger involving Samsung affiliates.
- On July 17, 2025, South Korea's Supreme Court cleared Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong of charges, removing a long-running legal risk.
- Amid the decade-long legal battle, the contested merger involved the 2015 Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries deal, which prosecutors alleged aimed to consolidate Lee's control and succession.
- Two lower courts had cleared Lee, and in February the Seoul High Court upheld acquittal of 19 charges, citing insufficient evidence.
- Following the verdict, the stock climbed 1.7% as analysts said removal of legal uncertainty and a Goldman Sachs downgrade of SK Hynix drove the uptick.
- The verdict frees Lee to focus on Samsung in the global AI chip race, and the Korea Enterprises Federation noted it removes a major legal burden amid fierce AI and semiconductor competition and U.S. tariff pressure.
57 Articles
57 Articles
Samsung chairman cleared of fraud by South Korea's top court
South Korea's top court has upheld an appeals court ruling to dismiss all charges in a long-running fraud case against Samsung chairman Jay Y. Lee. The accounting fraud and stock manipulation charges stemmed from a merger of two Samsung subsidiaries in 2015. Prosecutors had accused Lee of manipulating share prices to help clear the way for the merger in an attempt to consolidate his power. In 2024, a court ruled that the prosecutors failed to pr…
South Korea wins UK appeal over arbitration ruling in Samsung merger case
LONDON :South Korea on Thursday won its latest appeal in its dispute with U.S. hedge fund Elliott over the 2015 merger of two affiliates of Samsung, shortly after the electronics group's Chairman Jay Y. Lee was cleared by South Korea's top court.The South Korean government was ordered to pay Elliott around $1
The Samsung chairman was targeted by the judicial authorities for a merger of subsidiaries worth $8 billion in 2015.
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