Samsung Group, on Thursday, assured to strengthen its compliance with regulation and laws related to the conduct of its business.
The South Korean conglomerate will form a compliance monitoring committee led by the former Supreme Court justice Kim Ji-hyung. The company appointed Kim Ji-hyung as the committee’s chief who will be accompanied by outside recruits as well.
Samsung will create the committee to uplift the reputation smeared by various scandals such as corruption allegations involving the company’s de facto heir Lee Jae-yong. The compliance committee will dedicate itself to the supervision of the company’s internal structure abiding by related laws and regulations across its subsidiaries.
Former Supreme Court Justice Kim Ji-hyung previously led a mediation committee to settle a dispute between Samsung Electronics Co. and its employees over work environment and illness issues.
Though Samsung already has an operating compliance system within the company and its affiliates, the decision to reinforce its functions by creating a compliance committee came after a recommendation by the Seoul High Court.
The court called for a stricter compliance measures during the bribery trial of de facto leader Lee Jae-yong in October last year. According to the court, the measures should involve key executives of the company.
The heir apparent has been under trial for alleged bribery charges involving the ousted President Park Geun-hye. The court charged Lee in 2017 after giving bribes to a longtime friend of then-President Park seeking to secure backing to succeed his father and assure his leadership in the Samsung Group.
Lee vowed to stay away from what he deemed as “wrongful practices” in an attempt to spotlight his determination to reform the company.
The vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics stated during a visit to Samsung’s Hwaseong research and development center that the past’s excellent performances do not guarantee the future success of the company.
Last month, the Seoul High Court found Samsung Electronics senior executives guilty for group-led attempts to sabotage a Samsung labor union. The court’s ruling resulted in varied jail terms for the executives, including the company’s chairman of the board, Lee Sang-hoon.
Industry observers see the latest measures as Samsung’s effort to minimize the damage from the upcoming trials. They expect the South Korean conglomerate to issue additional measures to reinforce its compliance programs further.
Samsung’s latest measures are seen as its efforts to minimize the fallout in upcoming trials, according to the industry sources. Industry observers expect Samsung to roll out additional measures to strengthen its compliance programs.
