South Korea’s leading newspaper is claiming that Samsung is still looking for direction a year after the death of chief executive Lee Kun-hee.
The Korea Herald reports that, as competitors make “aggressive bets” to change the market dynamics amidst the global chip shortage, “Samsung is seen to be dragging its feet to finalise a major investment plan.”
The paper also reports that “legions” of shareholders remain frustrated by the depressed state of shares, and that the late chairman’s eldest son Lee Jae-yong’s legal issues are a distraction, clouding the company’s forward vision.
“There were expectations after Lee Kun-hee’s death about Lee Jae-yong’s new Samsung briefly, but the second imprisonment should have affected the share value among foreign investors as they saw the event as a major risk,” a market analyst said.
However, internal employees remain hopeful that the tide will change.
“Expectations are growing within the company that major plans like the US chip investment and network sale could be announced when [Lee Jae-yong] makes a comeback,” said a Samsung employee.
