Quotes: Reaction to Samsung group leader Jay Y. Lee's 30-month prison sentence

Eugene Investment & Securities Co

18/01/2021 07:09

SEOUL, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
 005930.KS  Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee was sentenced to
two-and-a-half years in prison for bribing an associate of a
former President Park Geun-hyeto win backing for a merger of two
affiliates to strengthen his grip on the group.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JT01C 
    Following are reactions to the sentence on Monday.
    
    BAE SANG-KUN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERATION OF KOREAN
INDUSTRIES  
    "We deeply regret (the court's) decision as Vice Chairman
Jay Y. Lee has been helping sustain the South Korean economy
with his bold investment and job creation amid the economic
crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic."
    "The lack of management leadership could delay decision
making processes to initiate new businesses, potentially
resulting in being left behind in global competition. We hope
that Samsung will wisely overcome this crisis and move forward
with continuous growth. 
    
    KOREA ENTERPRISES FEDERATION IN A STATEMENT
    "The business management community is gravely concerned
about a leadership vacuum at Samsung Group due to the ruling
that sentenced him with a jail term."
    "With unprecedented economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19
as well as the acceleration of protectionist policies around the
globe, negative impacts on the overall economy and industries
would be inevitable as delays of significant business decisions
and investment are expected due to the lack of management
leadership at one of the global companies in the country." 
    
    PARK SANG-IN, SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR AND AN
EXPERT ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: 
    "Although the court's decision sent Lee back to prison, the
decision still seems to be too lenient when it comes to the
country's conglomerate ... today's verdict will not help correct
the track record of country's courts offering leniency toward
business tycoons." 
    "Many are concerned that Samsung would face challenges as
there is no owner in the management; however, Samsung managed to
operate just fine when Lee was jailed last time."
    
    LEE SEUNG-WOO, ANALYST AT EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES IN
SEOUL
    "The share price of Samsung Electronics has risen quite
sharply recently, and a major difference from the past is that
the share held by retail investors has increased greatly ...   
Retail investors appear to be reacting sensitively to the
ruling. When you look at message boards recently, opinions on
Vice Chairman Lee (of retail investors) have been fairly
positive."

 (Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Jihoon Lee, Choonsik Yoo and Joyce
Lee. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
 ((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 6936 1470;))