Samsung Group former chairman Lee Kun-hee is pictured on a television screen standing before a crowd of citizens asking, “I hope all the people are honest and have integrity.” Lee made the remark at the ceremony commemorating 100th anniversary of Lee Byung-chul’s birth, who was Lee Kun-hee’s father and the founder of Samsung.
However, a group of citizens who wait in line at a bookstore contemplate the remark’s meaning. One man picks up a copy of Kim Yong-chul’s
“Thinking about Samsung” and asks, “How can we become more honest...?”
Attorney Kim Yong-chul, who was the whistle-blower within Samsung in October 2007 over the chaebol’s corruption including Lee Kun-hee’s slush fund, published a book entitled
“Thinking about Samsung” on Jan. 29. In this book, he gave detailed accounts of Samsung’s behavior and wrote that the company has lobbied governmental authorities including the court officials, prosecutors and national tax service officials and has not hesitated to distort proof for transferring Samsung’s management rights to Lee Jae-yong, the son of Lee Kun-hee.
(Hankyoreh Geurimpan, Feb. 8, 2010)
