South Korea’s top court clears Samsung chairman Lee in 2015 merger case

South Korea’s top court upheld on Thursday (July 17, 2025) a not guilty verdict for the chairman of Samsung Electronics Jay Y. Lee, Yonhap News Agency said, backing two lower court rulings clearing him of accounting fraud and stock manipulation related to an $8 billion merger in 2015.

The Supreme Court’s verdict permanently removes a long-running legal distraction for Mr. Lee as Samsung plays catch-up in a global race to develop cutting-edge AI chips.

The Supreme Court upheld an appeals court’s ruling dismissing all the charges in the case involving the merger a decade ago between two Samsung affiliates, Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, which prosecutors said was designed to cement Mr. Lee’s control of the tech giant.

A lower court last year had also cleared Mr. Lee of the charges.

The Supreme Court ruling was widely expected, but comes at a critical moment for Mr. Lee, who has faced mounting questions about his ability to lead Samsung Electronics— the world’s top memory chip and smartphone maker— as it grapples with growing competition and playing catch-up in artificial intelligence chips.

For nearly a decade, Mr. Lee has faced legal challenges, including those from the merger that paved the way for his succession after his father, Lee Kun-hee, had a heart attack in 2014 that left him in a coma.