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News Wire / economy

Samsung Investigation Finds No Evidence of Improper Share Purchases

BBC Radio 4 Seoul 16d16d Impact 5

Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong's father, K. The use of company resources for this purpose has become a central point of regulatory controversy. The investigation has taken a twist as regulators are now specifically targeting JY Lee. The probe follows the collapse of the E-Samsung online commerce platform with $20 million in losses. The investigation concluded that while Samsung subsidiaries purchased his shares, there was no evidence the actions were taken solely to shield him. A Samsung spokesperson stated that all shareholders' shares were purchased on the same terms when the company was closed. Lee's situation may have been due to bad timing and that Samsung was not the only victim of the dot-com crash. While Lee was the chief shareholder on paper, he did not hold an executive position as CEO of eSamsung.

Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong's father, K. The use of company resources for this purpose has become a central point of regulatory controversy. The investigation has taken a twist as regulators are now specifically targeting JY Lee. The probe follows the collapse of the E-Samsung online commerce platform with $20 million in losses. The investigation concluded that while Samsung subsidiaries purchased his shares, there was no evidence the actions were taken solely to shield him. A Samsung spokesperson stated that all shareholders' shares were purchased on the same terms when the company was closed. Lee's situation may have been due to bad timing and that Samsung was not the only victim of the dot-com crash. While Lee was the chief shareholder on paper, he did not hold an executive position as CEO of eSamsung. The probe suggested that aides and lieutenants likely handled operations to present Lee as a competent leader. Lee previously maintained a lower public profile following the collapse of eSamsung. Investigation concluded that while subsidiaries bought shares, there was no evidence the intent was purely to shield Jay Lee, who held no executive role at eSamsung. Jeffrey Cain noted complexities regarding Jay Lee's role as chief shareholder despite lacking an official executive position on paper.

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Sources · 7 independent

BBC Radio 4

“The Samsung chairman has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer. It's clear that he's not going to be around forever and his son needs to step up.”

BBC Radio 4

“capability to be the Samsung's leader because there was kind of disbelief.”

BBC World Service

“He had to prove his capability to be the Samsung's leader because there was kind of disbelief amongst people that J.Y. Lee was not good as his father or his grandfather.”

BBC World Service

“J.Y. Lee has to do more than impress his father. He had to prove his capability to be the Samsung's leader because there was kind of disbelief amongst people that J.Y. Lee was not as good as his father or his grandfather.”

BBC World Service

“He wanted to turn Samsung not into just a hardware maker, but also to a software maker.”

BBC Radio 4

“J. Lee's idea was for a company called eSamsung and the idea was to seize on the dot-com boom. So you got to remember this was the late 90s and the early 2000s.”

BBC World Service

“He had to prove his capability to be the Samsung's leader because there was kind of disbelief amongst people that J.Y. Lee was not good as his father”

BBC Radio 4

“J. Lee wanted to turn Samsung not into just a hardware maker, but also into a software maker. He had spent time in Silicon Valley.”

BBC World Service

“He wanted to turn Samsung not into just a hardware maker, but also into a software maker.”

BBC World Service

“J. Lee wanted to seize on that. He had spent time in Silicon Valley. He wanted to turn Samsung not into just a hardware maker, but also into a software maker.”

BBC Radio 4

“J. Lee wanted to turn Samsung not just into a hardware maker, but also into a software maker. By the end of 1997, the financial crisis had spread to South Korea.”

BBC World Service

“The company was forced to cut back on new ventures to focus on the core business. Samsung was not immune to the economic pain, either.”

BBC World Service

“to cut back on new ventures to focus on the core business.”

BBC Radio 4

“Samsung was not immune to the economic pain either. Like other tables, it had loaded up on debt to fuel its aggressive...”

BBC Radio 4

“The chairman, K. H. Lee, was a petrolhead. He reportedly loved few things more than hurtling around Samsung's own racetrack in a selection of sports cars at more than 300 kilometers per hour.”

BBC Radio 4

“To cover the losses, Samsung Electronics laid off one-third of its 100,000 workers. There is now a lot riding on JY Lee's e-Samsung project.”

BBC WS backup

“As the auditors head inside, Samsung staff asked them for their IDs and search permissions. But according to the audit, that wasn't the case.”

BBC WS backup

“The investigation continues, but it's taken a twist. Regulators are now aiming squarely at JY Lee.”

BBC WS backup

“The investigation concluded that whilst his shares had been bought up by Samsung subsidiaries, there was no evidence this was done purely to shield him from losses, or that the prices paid were unreasonable.”

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