South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday issued a pardon for Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong, who was released on parole in 2021 while serving a jail term for a bribery case, along with Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and other key business figures. Nearly 1,700 people were included in the list of pardons. Yoon said…

Some prominent South Korean politicians are endorsing a presidential pardon for Samsung’s chief Lee Jae-yong, citing the company’s crucial role in the national economy and its increasing challenges in the global semiconductor market. Public opinion supports a favorable outcome. Lee, who is currently on parole over a bribery case, is in charge of Samsung Electronics’…

Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong recently visited the Netherlands to lay the foundations for the South Korean giant’s semiconductor value chain. Chipmakers racing to expand production amid a global shortage are competing to secure Dutch chipmaking equipment supplier ASML’s EUV lithography systems—devices essential to making advanced microchips. EUV stands for “extreme ultraviolet,” the wavelength of…

U.S. President Joe Biden will visit South Korea and Japan from May 20 to May 24, which will be his first trip to Asia as president. When the visit was still in the planning stage, five South Korean lobby groups called for a presidential pardon to be issued to Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. They…

A recent South Korean study shows the country’s semiconductor market share in China shrunk 5.5 percent compared to 2018, citing the effect of U.S. sanctions on China. According to the Yonhap News Agency, the study was conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), an economic association for domestic industries in South Korea. It analyzed…

News Analysis Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s recent trip to North America was likely aimed at finalizing site selection for Samsung’s new $17 billion chip foundry plant. Hong Kong financial expert Liao Shiming believes the United States is cooperating with Samsung to restructure its high-tech supply chain. Lee appeared at a business airport in…