Lee Jae-yong

A dispute over profit-related bonuses in the semiconductor division led tens of thousands of employees to prepare an 18-day strike. On 16 May 2026, Lee issued a rare public apology to customers and the public for the industrial relations crisis. Following government mediation, an agreement providing for the distribution of 10.5% of the semiconductor division's operating profit was approved.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Prosecutors accused Lee of orchestrating share-price manipulation, misleading disclosures and accounting irregularities to facilitate the 2015 Samsung C&T–Cheil Industries merger and consolidate his control over the group. After years of proceedings, he was acquitted at first instance and on appeal; the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal on 17 July 2025.

Attribution

Personally implicated

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

In 2024, Samsung Electronics' main trade union launched the first general strike in the company's history after negotiations on pay, leave and bonuses failed. The union called on Lee to intervene personally and accused management of failing to make a genuine break with the former anti-union culture.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Lee was prosecuted for receiving propofol on 41 occasions outside the legally permitted circumstances. In October 2021, the court imposed a 70-million-won fine and approximately 17 million won in confiscation; he did not challenge the decision.

Attribution

Personally implicated

Samsung executives were convicted of systematic operations aimed at weakening trade unions, notably at Samsung Electronics Service. In May 2020, Lee apologised and pledged to end Samsung's longstanding policy of avoiding unions.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Samsung Medical Center became one of the main centres of the MERS outbreak in South Korea in 2015, amid criticism of patient detection, isolation and communications. Lee Jae-yong publicly apologised on behalf of his family and Samsung.

State of the evidence

Documented