Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong resumes business activities

Public attention is growing as work restrictions on Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was pardoned on Friday. Lee is expected to make visits to business sites at home and abroad and meet with business partners with lifted restrictions.

According to business industry reports on Sunday, Lee is planning to meet with Samsung Electronics top leadership to review business issues. Lee had met with major heads at Samsung Electronics at the group’s headquarters when he was paroled in August last year.

Vice Chairman Lee is expected to join business activities as well. "Lee will be meeting with various business partners to discuss ideas to make up for his absence for the past years,” said a source at Samsung. “We expect more international travels.”

Semi-conductor sites are most likely to be visited, as the industry is winding down with lower demand in the IT industry due to global economic slowdown. Lee is likely to visit the Hwaseong campus in Gyeonggi Province, which mass manufactured the world's first 3-nanometre foundry product, or the Pyeongtaek campus that U.S. President Joe Biden visited during his visit to Korea in early May.

Lee is also likely to visit sales sites including Samsung Digital Plaza, as a gesture to highlight the importance of on-site sales with slowing sales growth due to the global economic situation. Back in 2020, Lee also visited Samsung Digital Plazas ahead of Chuseok holidays.


Teuk-Gyo Koo kootg@donga.com