On Thursday, South Korea's Supreme Court cleared Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF) chairman Jay Y. Lee of stock manipulation and accounting fraud charges related to a 2015 merger, ending a nearly decade-long legal battle.
What Happened: The ruling upholds a lower court decision that dismissed all charges against Lee involving the $8 billion merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, reported Reuters.
Prosecutors had alleged the deal was orchestrated to solidify Lee's control over Samsung Group following his father's incapacitation in 2014.
Lee's legal team welcomed the outcome, stating that the court confirmed the legality of the merger. The Korea Enterprises Federation also praised the verdict, calling it a stabilizing move for South Korea's economy, the report added.
See Also: Jensen Huang Gave $12.6 Million To Charity, Then Nvidia’s Stock Made It Billions
"The Supreme Court ruling clears a layer of legal uncertainty, which could be a long-term positive for Samsung," said Ryu Young-ho, senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities. "It remains to be seen how directly and proactively he will engage going forward."
Samsung Electronics shares jumped 3.1% following the decision, outperforming the broader KOSPI index. Analysts also cited a downgrade of rival SK Hynix by Goldman Sachs as a factor in the stock movement, the report added.
Why It's Important: Samsung, which warned of a 56% drop in the second-quarter operating profit, is under pressure to regain momentum in AI chip development and revive its struggling semiconductor division.
In 2024, during his two-week trip to the U.S., Lee held meetings with Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon.com Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Andy Jassy and Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) CEO Cristiano Amon.
Their discussions focused on collaboration opportunities in artificial intelligence, cloud services, and semiconductors.
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