Lee Jae-yong asks prosecutors to convene investigation review board

Posted on : 2020-06-04 18:45 KST Modified on : 2020-06-04 18:45 KST
Board could influence decision on pressing charges against Samsung vice chairman
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong heads to the Seoul High Court for his bribery and corruption trial on Dec. 6, 2019. (Kang Chang-kwang, staff photographer)
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong heads to the Seoul High Court for his bribery and corruption trial on Dec. 6, 2019. (Kang Chang-kwang, staff photographer)

On June 2, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong asked the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, which is investigating alleged illegality in Lee’s inheritance of control over the Samsung Group, to convene the investigation review board (chaired by former Supreme Court justice Yang Chang-su) under the auspices of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office. That move would give the review board, which is composed of laypeople, a say in the prosecutors’ decision about whether or not to press charges against Lee. Lee has reportedly asked the board to render an opinion not only about whether or not he should be indicted but also about whether the investigation itself should continue.

Lee, who is an official suspect in the investigation, was questioned at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on May 26 and 29. He reportedly told prosecutors that the various illegal activities that allegedly occurred during the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries were the work of executives in Samsung’s defunct Future Strategy Office (FSO). But the prosecutors hold a number of FSO-drafted documents that were directly presented to Lee, giving them confidence that they can prove the charges against him.

Review board petition aimed at drumming up sympathy and turning the case on its head

Since the investigation review board has never been convened before by the head of one of Korea’s chaebol (family-owned conglomerates), legal experts are offering various interpretations of Lee’s stratagem. What’s undisputable, however, is that Lee hopes to bring the public around to his side. Lee learned what evidence the prosecutors have against him during his two rounds of questioning; given the ominous direction of the investigation, experts say, he’s trying to turn things around in the court of public opinion.

On May 6, Lee made a public apology about the Samsung Group’s no-tolerance policy for labor unions and his efforts to inherit control of the group, on the recommendation of Samsung’s legal compliance oversight committee. Lee has also been working to burnish his public image: on May 29, Samsung agreed to make an apology and provide compensation to Kim Yong-hui, who stayed atop a tower for 350 days to protest his unjust firing.

But since the role of Samsung has also been in the spotlight as the COVID-19 pandemic places South Korea in an economic crisis, public opinion could work in Lee’s favor. Under these circumstances, Lee’s petition for a hearing by the review board basically represents a last-ditch effort to stay out of the prosecutors’ clutches.

The investigation review board, which was set up under Prosecutor-General Mun Mu-il in 2018, is composed of 250 citizens from various fields, including attorneys, professor, activists from civic groups, and reporters with experience in law. In short, the members of the board are more susceptible to public opinion than hardboiled prosecutors carrying out the investigation.

“Since Lee is unwilling to accept the allegations that are being investigated, he wants the decision to be made by a neutral board composed of experts and ordinary people,” Lee’s attorney said in regard to the review board request.

Convening the board could also serve to delay the investigation. June 3, the day after Lee submitted the request, was when the prosecutor-general and the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office had scheduled their weekly briefing. That briefing was when the prosecutors had been likely to decide whether to file charges against Lee and ask for a detention warrant against him. Given the near certainty that Lee would have been indicted, the petition effectively bought Lee some more time.

Lee’s petition won’t cause the review board to be convened immediately. First, a preliminary review board whose members are drawn from the citizens’ committee at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office will have to decide whether to accept Lee’s request. If the request is approved by a majority of the 15 members on that board, the investigation review board at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office will launch its review. Fifteen of the 250 members of the board will be randomly recommended for a task force to review whether the investigation into Lee should continue and whether he should be indicted.

The supervising prosecutor and the petitioner are both allowed to submit 30-page position statements and make remarks for 30 minutes each, after which the task force will decide on a recommendation that must be approved by a majority of those in attendance. While it’s not mandatory for the prosecutors to accept the review board’s recommendation, they have done so in all previous cases.

Review board may struggle with technically complicated case and could rule against Lee

The problem, however, is that this is a complicated case dealing with a corporate merger and what is alleged to be accounting fraud, and it won’t be easy to get to the bottom of those issues in a 30-page position statement and 30 minutes of oral argument.

“The Samsung case isn’t suitable for the consideration of the investigation review board. Complex technical issues about inheriting corporate control and fraudulent accounting aren’t something that the board members can grasp and adjudicate in such a short time,” said a source with the prosecutors.

The review board petition buys Lee some time before the prosecutors decide whether to ask for a detention warrant and could help him gain sympathy from the public, but it also comes with its own risks.

“If the investigation review board recommends that the prosecutors continue their investigation and indict Lee, it will strengthen the position of prosecutors who want to throw the book at him. Lee’s staking a lot on this move, and it could prove to be a blunder,” said an attorney who specializes in corporate lawsuits.

“The fact that Lee filed the petition right before the prosecutors decided whether to seek a detention warrant suggests that he’s just trying to stay out of custody. Lee may have filed the petition because he feels cornered,” said another source with the prosecutors.

By Lim Jae-woo and Kim Jeong-pil, staff reporters

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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