Latest news with #LeeJae-yong
Time of India
20-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Foreign ownership of Samsung Electronics tops 50% again
Seoul: Foreign ownership of Samsung Electronics has climbed back above 50% in the South Korean stock market, while retail investors favoured SK hynix this month, the main bourse said on Sunday. In the first three weeks of this month through Friday, foreign investors bought a net 1.877 trillion won (US$1.34 billion) worth of Samsung Electronics shares, more than double their net buying of 713 billion won for all of last month, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX). As of Friday, foreigners held a 50.19% stake in the chip giant, rising above the mark for the first time since April 24, when their ownership stood at 50%, reports Yonhap news agency. On Thursday, Samsung Electronics shares rallied after the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of the company's Chairman Lee Jae-yong , affirming lower court rulings that cleared him of financial crimes related to a 2015 merger between Samsung affiliates that consolidated his control over the conglomerate. However, foreigners offloaded 301 billion won worth of SK hynix stocks in the first three weeks, ending their two-month buying streak in the broader market. SK hynix shares slumped after Goldman Sachs on Thursday downgraded the chipmaker to neutral from buy, citing a possible decline in high bandwidth memory (HBM) prices next year amid intensifying competition. On Thursday, Samsung rose 3.09% to close at 66,700 won, while SK hynix fell 8.95% to 269,500 won. Affected by foreigners' portfolio adjustments, Samsung shares have gained 12.2% so far this month, while SK hynix has dropped 7.9%. Meanwhile, retail investors took the opposite approach, buying a net 1.23 trillion won of SK hynix shares and selling 2.31 trillion won of Samsung shares during the same period, according to the report.
Korea Herald
20-07-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Foreign ownership of Samsung Electronics tops 50% again
Foreign ownership of Samsung Electronics Co. has climbed back above 50 percent in the South Korean stock market, while retail investors favored SK hynix Co. this month, the main bourse said Sunday. In the first three weeks of this month through Friday, foreign investors bought a net 1.877 trillion won ($1.34 billion) worth of Samsung Electronics shares, more than double their net buying of 713 billion won for all of last month, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX). As of Friday, foreigners held a 50.19 percent stake in the chip giant, rising above the mark for the first time since April 24, when their ownership stood at 50 percent. On Thursday, Samsung Electronics shares rallied after the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of the company's Chairman Lee Jae-yong, affirming lower court rulings that cleared him of financial crimes related to a 2015 merger between Samsung affiliates that consolidated his control over the conglomerate. However, foreigners offloaded 301 billion won worth of SK hynix stocks in the first three weeks, ending their two-month buying streak in the broader market. SK hynix shares slumped after Goldman Sachs on Thursday downgraded the chipmaker to neutral from buy, citing a possible decline in high bandwidth memory (HBM) prices next year amid intensifying competition. On Thursday, Samsung rose 3.09 percent to close at 66,700 won, while SK hynix fell 8.95 percent to 269,500 won. Affected by foreigners' portfolio adjustments, Samsung shares have gained 12.2 percent so far this month, while SK hynix has dropped 7.9 percent. Meanwhile, retail investors took the opposite approach, buying a net 1.23 trillion won of SK hynix shares and selling 2.31 trillion won of Samsung shares during the same period. (Yonhap)
CNBC
18-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Federated Hermes 'impressed' with South Korea's corporate reform progress, sees more to come
Jonathan Pines of Federated Hermes commends South Korea's corporate governance reforms aimed at narrowing the 'Korean discount.' He also weighs in on the implications of the recent Supreme Court ruling involving Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
Business Times
17-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Samsung chairman Lee's long legal saga ends with acquittal
[SEOUL] Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong was cleared of all charges related to accounting fraud and stock manipulation by South Korea's Supreme Court, marking a major legal victory for the billionaire head of the world's largest electronics empire. The top court on Thursday (Jul 17) upheld a Seoul High Court ruling that acquitted Lee and other Samsung officials of all 19 charges stemming from the 2015 merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries Prosecutors alleged the deal helped Lee cement his control over the conglomerate. The decision ends a years-long legal saga that had cast a shadow over the leadership of South Korea's biggest conglomerate. It will also allow the company to focus on revitalising its business and try to reclaim its position as a leading supplier of the advanced chips driving the artificial revolution just as US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose crippling duties on chip exports. South Korean prosecutors in 2023 sought a five-year prison sentence along with a 500 million won (S$461,654) fine for Lee. However, a Seoul district court in February 2024 ruled in Lee's favour. A year later, the Seoul High Court dismissed the prosecution's appeal and upheld the lower court's decision, clearing Lee of all charges. The case had been ongoing since 2020. Samsung Group shares rose on Thursday following the verdict. Samsung Electronics shares rose as much as 2.3 per cent while Samsung Biologics shares jumped as much as 3.1 per cent. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'Today's final ruling by the Supreme Court has clearly confirmed that the merger of Samsung C&T and the accounting treatment of Samsung Biologics were lawful,' Samsung's legal counsel said in a statement. The acquittal lifts a weight off the world's largest maker of memory chips and displays, which has been battling intense competition. Domestic rival SK Hynix has stolen a march over Samsung in the race to supply cutting edge chips for the development of AI. Korea has expressed deep concerns over Washington's proposal to levy import duties on semiconductors, with Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo warning this week that such duties could deal a significant blow to one of the nation's key export industries. Lee, 57, was embroiled for years in legal struggles that rocked the tech establishment and triggered a political scandal that led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. But Lee secured a presidential pardon in 2022 from the graft charges, allowing him to formally take the helm of the conglomerate that his grandfather created in 1938. BLOOMBERG
UPI
17-07-2025
- Business
- UPI
South Korea's top court acquits Samsung chief of fraud charges
South Korea's Supreme Court upheld a lower court's acquittal of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong (C) of fraud charges on Thursday. The decision ends years of legal disputes for Lee, seen here leaving a Seoul district court in 2024. Photo by Yonhap/EPA-EFE SEOUL, July 17 (UPI) -- South Korea's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the acquittal of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on fraud charges related to a 2015 merger, lifting a legal cloud that had hung over the country's richest man for years. The top court said it found no errors in the ruling by the Seoul High Court in February, which acquitted Lee of charges of stock manipulation and accounting fraud in a controversial $8 billion deal involving two of the company's affiliates. That merger, between Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T Corp., helped solidify Lee's control of the company after his father, then-Chairman Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack in 2014. Prosecutors alleged that Lee and other Samsung officials engineered a favorable merger ratio by artificially inflating Cheil's value and depreciating Samsung C&T, harming minority shareholders in the process. A lower court last year also cleared Lee of the charges. Thursday's ruling by the Supreme Court cannot be appealed, ending a legal battle that has gone on since Lee was first indicted on the fraud charges nearly five years ago. Lee's legal team said the ruling "clearly confirmed" that the merger was legitimate. "We sincerely thank the court for its wise judgment after five years of faithful deliberations," the lawyers said in a statement. Lee served roughly 18 months in prison after being convicted in a separate 2017 bribery case involving former South Korean President Park Geun-hye. The legal drama has added to Samsung's challenges as it navigates intense competition in key industries such as smartphones and semiconductors. Last week, the tech giant announced a 56% decline in operating profits for the second quarter of the year, citing factors such as the impact of U.S. semiconductor export restrictions to China. South Korea is also facing U.S. President Donald Trump's pending 25% tariffs, currently scheduled to go into effect on Aug. 1. The country's business community welcomed news of the acquittal Thursday, predicting it would give a boost to the country's largest conglomerate. "In an era of fierce global competition in cutting-edge industries, the removal of legal uncertainties surrounding a key company like Samsung is expected to have a positive ripple effect not only on the firm but on the Korean economy as a whole," Kang Seok-koo, head of the research division at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said in a statement. Civic groups, however, criticized the Supreme Court ruling as biased in favor of the massive chaebol, or conglomerates, that have long dominated South Korea. "The result of this trial is that the court has once again made a pro-chaebol ruling with a passive and narrow interpretation of the law," People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy said in a statement. "We strongly condemn the judiciary for making a shameful decision that undermines social justice by acting as a shield for corporate power."
