Seoul: With his decadelong legal battles finally behind him, Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong is now expected to turn his full attention to reshaping the tech giant's strategy, from reviving its chip competitiveness to pursuing long-delayed mergers and acquisitions (M and As), as the tech giant is struggling to navigate an increasingly high-stakes global tech landscape.
According to Yonhap News Agency, earlier in the day, the Supreme Court finalized the acquittal of Lee on charges of stock price rigging, breach of trust, and accounting fraud in connection with the controversial merger of Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C and T Corp., which was seen as aimed at solidifying his managerial control of the group at a lower cost.
The ruling concludes a legal battle that spanned four years and 10 months since his indictment and, more broadly, brings an end to a near decade of legal troubles dating back to his involvement in a nationwide power abuse scandal in 2016 during the Park Geun-hye administration. Over the period, Samsung Electronics has been experiencing its "lost decade," with performance stagnation across core business divisions, in part due to delayed strategic decisions.
In the flagship semiconductor business, the foundry and chip design units have reported steep losses amid intensifying global competition and lagging technological capabilities. The memory division, which once enjoyed a distant lead, has fallen behind rivals, such as SK hynix Inc., in the race to develop high bandwidth memory (HBM), a crucial component of the artificial intelligence (AI) value chain.
Last year, Jun Yong-hyun, vice chairman and head of Samsung's semiconductor division, issued a rare public apology to investors and customers for the group's weakening technological leadership.
In smartphones, the company has come under pressure from rising Chinese brands, while the gap with Apple Inc. in the premium segment has continued to widen.
Samsung has also lost its top spot in South Korea in terms of annual operating profit, falling behind Hyundai Motor Group in 2023 and SK hynix in 2024. Against this backdrop, Lee's long-awaited acquittal is expected to allow him to fully return to the helm as the court-cleared chairman is now free from pending legal obstacles.
Analysts anticipated Lee will navigate the challenges through M and As and massive investments that may have been delayed due to the legal proceedings.
The company's last major M and A deal was in 2016, when it took over automotive and audio firm Harman International for US$8 billion.
Since Lee's appellate acquittal in February, the company has been ramping up overseas acquisitions, including the purchase of U.S. audio firm Masimo's consumer business through Harman, Germany's FlaktGroup Holding GmbH, and U.S. digital health platform Xealth.
Domestically, observers expect Lee to announce new investment plans or business visions in line with the policy direction of the Lee Jae Myung administration, similar to how Samsung pledged to invest 450 trillion won in future growth engines during the early days of the previous Yoon Suk Yeol government.
He is also anticipated to pursue reforms in corporate governance and management systems to recover Samsung's technological edge, enhance competitiveness, and broaden corporate social responsibility initiatives.
"Now is the time for Chairman Lee to present a concrete plan to secure new growth engines and restore the group's weakening competitiveness," said Park Joo-geun, head of market research firm Leaders Index.