Anti-corruption: Samsung set up 7-man panel

A seven-man anti-corruption panel has been set up by South Korea’s Samsung Group as its former president Park Geun-hye faces trials over a bribery scandal.

According to a statement released on Thursday, the committee which is made up of external experts will be an oversight panel charged with the sole aim of stamping out criminal conduct within the company.

Reuters revealed that the Samsung Group already has a compliance program in place, and the new panel, mostly outside experts from legal circles and civic groups, will begin work in February.

The compliance panel will comprise seven members, including two from legal circles, two from academia, two from civic groups and one from Samsung Electronics - a former Samsung communications chief.

According to Reuters, governance experts aired skepticism, calling the move a gesture to get lenient treatment in court and citing a repeat of criminal offenses at Samsung and other family-run conglomerates, despite pledges to improve governance and transparency.

“An effective compliance program could be operated within the environment, encouraging employees to internally report violation without fearing reprisal. But this is not the case at Korean companies,” said Lee Chang-min, a specialist in corporate governance at Seoul-based Hanyang University.

The move came after a judge overseeing Samsung leader Jay Y. Lee’s bribery case in October criticized the top conglomerate for its lack of an effective compliance system, saying one was needed to prevent wrongdoing by executives and its leader.

“The timing Samsung chose to make these changes is not that great... and if this committee fails, I will end up hugely disgraced,” said Kim Ji-hyung, a former supreme court judge named to head the compliance and oversight committee, told a news conference.

“Our committee will thoroughly monitor legal risks at Samsung’s top management,” he said.

He said he initially turned down Samsung’s offer, because of worries it would end up failing to make improvements and only be used by Samsung to secure favourable court rulings.