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Samsung's Image Plagued By Corruption, Scandal
Fri, 11/16/2007 - 5:05am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Koreans take great pride in Samsung, known worldwide for sleek flat-screen TVs, high-tech mobile phones, hulking container ships and major construction projects.
But a spreading bribery scandal has renewed old concerns about the perceived power and influence of the ''Republic of Samsung'' — as the conglomerate has been called — within the Republic of Korea, South Korea's formal name.
''Samsung has two faces,'' Kim Byung-su, the editorial page editor at the liberal Hankyoreh newspaper wrote. ''The Samsung brand is a name recognized worldwide and makes you proud. Take a step back, however, and there is another Samsung.''
In the latest scandal, Kim Yong-chul, a former top Samsung lawyer, went public this month with allegations that chairman Lee Kun-hee and other officials masterminded a campaign to raise slush funds to pay prosecutors, judges and lawmakers and influence a high-profile court case.
Prosecutors launched a probe this week into the allegations, which Samsung has called ''groundless'' and ''false'' in a lengthy rebuttal.
Politicians across the political spectrum have called for an independent counsel, saying a probe by prosecutors could not be objective given that they allegedly accepted payoffs.
The issue has suddenly emerged as a hot topic in South Korea's presidential election, just a month away, with one party even claiming incumbent President Roh Moo-hyun, who is limited to a single term, received Samsung money.
Roh's spokesman has dismissed the claims.
Corruption and bribery have been hallmarks of South Korea's business and political worlds for decades and Samsung is far from alone in finding itself at the center of scandal.
Their roots can be found in cozy ties developed during years of military-backed authoritarian rule when family run conglomerates, or chaebol, were given the role of leading South Korea's drive toward industrialization.
Earlier this year, Chung Mong-koo, the chairman of Hyundai Motor Co., was convicted of embezzlement and breach of trust for raising a slush fund prosecutors said was used for bribery.
He was sentenced to three years in prison — although the term was suspended on appeal when the presiding judge ruled that Chung played too important a role in South Korea's economy for him to go to jail.
Samsung is a sprawling empire of 59 companies with interests in shipbuilding, insurance, an amusement park, hotels, public relations and of course electronics.
For many Koreans, Samsung is more than just a business.
''It means South Korea,'' said Jang Ha-sung, dean of the business school at Korea University.
''If something goes wrong with Samsung that will have an immediate impact on every corner of Korea,'' he added. ''It's not just because it is big, nor is it just because it is one of the multinational corporations we have. Because Samsung is embedded in the whole society.''
South Koreans can virtually go through an entire day with Samsung.
They can live in an apartment built by Samsung, eat food out of their Samsung refrigerator, watch a Samsung TV, buy Samsung insurance, take their kids to a Samsung amusement park, stay at a Samsung hotel, pay for it with a Samsung credit card and call home on a Samsung mobile phone.
''All Koreans like Samsung,'' said Ko Young-hun, who sells phones at a small shop in Seoul's electronics market. He cited their quality and design as well as thorough post-purchase service.
Lee is widely viewed as the driving force at Samsung Electronics Co. and is credited with transforming it into a competitive high-tech powerhouse.
It is the world's largest maker of memory chips and expects to bring in consolidated sales of $100 billion for the year through December for the first time, cementing its status as one of the world's top technology companies.
Lee, 65, is no stranger to scandals at the conglomerate founded by his father almost 70 years ago.
In 1996, he was convicted along with seven other leading South Korean business executives of giving and arranging bribes to ex-South Korean President Roh Tae-woo, a former general.
Lee, a member of the International Olympic Committee, was handed a two-year suspended prison term.
''Giving money to the government was a long-standing practice,'' Lee said at the time. ''Samsung was no exception.''
Earlier this year, the Seoul High Court found the former and current heads of Samsung Everland, an unlisted unit, guilty of selling bonds convertible to shares to Lee's children at less-than-market prices.
Critics say the 1996 sales were aimed at enabling Lee to hand over control of the conglomerate to his son Jae-yong, now an executive at Samsung Electronics, as they say unlisted Everland serves as a de-facto holding company for the Samsung Group.
Samsung says Everland does not play such a role.
The two officials, sentenced to suspended prison terms and fined, have appealed to the Supreme Court.
Samsung has tried to regain public trust after previous scandals.
In 2006, it donated more than $800 million to society, including setting up a scholarship fund, to express remorse for ''causing concern'' among South Koreans over a campaign finance scandal ahead of 1997 presidential elections and the transfer of wealth to Lee's children.
''Chairman Lee acknowledged that while he has devoted himself to the management of Samsung, his efforts to grow together with our society and meet the people's expectations have been insufficient,'' Vice Chairman Lee Hak-soo said at the time.


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Originally written on Pro Sports Daily | Last updated 1/15/13
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Indiana Pacers lead the NBA in all the major defensive statistical categories, and they are taking great pride in it. The Pacers put that stifling defense on display again Tuesday night as they routed the Charlotte Bobcats 103-76, limiting the Bobcats to 34.7 percent shooting from the field and piling up a whopping 60-31 rebound advantage. It was the Pacers' fifth win in the last six games, and it was so dominant that Coach Frank Vogel was able to rest his starters for the entire fourth quarter. Indiana led by 30 early in the fourth. "It was a great win for our guys," Vogel said. "I'm very proud of our effort and our discipline. It's very difficult no matter who you're playing or what the circumstances are to build a 30-point lead on the road. So I'm just proud of our effort." The Central Division leaders came into Tuesday night leading the NBA in fewest points allowed (89.3) and lowest opponent's field goal percentage (.413). Tuesday night's win ma...
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Amanda Roberts of Bossier City, Louisiana isn't your average Dallas Cowboys football fan.
Her passion started as a young girl, cheering for the team because her mother was a fan. She continued watching the games as she grew up and even married "one of the biggest Cowboy fans" she knows.
But Roberts' love for the Cowboys stretches beyond the sport. Her lifelong dream was to cheer and dance with the famous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
The 43-year-old Roberts says she watches all of the Cowboys games, tunes in to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders reality show, "Making the Team," and works out to the Cowboys Cheerleaders exercise DVDs. She even has her own Cowboys Cheerleader costume, something she bought to surprise her then fiance, now husband.
Originally from Dayton, Texas, Roberts spent her high school years as a twirler. But she says she still regrets not auditioning to be one of America's sweethearts.
"Twirling has the same little step ball changes and the 8-counts like the Cheerleaders do. Twenty-something years ago that could have been me," Roberts told "Good Morning America."
So it was the dream of a lifetime when Roberts was selected as one of four winners of "Good Morning America's" Living the Dream Contest. Going back to her roots, she got to live out her Texas-sized dream of being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
"I couldn't feel my heart beat. I knew it was beating but I couldn't feel it," she said.
Roberts joined the squad for a day at its training facility in Valley Ranch, Texas to learn what it takes to make it as a cheerleader. The cheerleaders had Roberts strutting her stuff, pom-poms in hand, without a moment to spare.
"That was kind of nerve-racking because they did it so fast. It's like OK, remember this step, remember this step," Roberts said.
As she worked to master the intricate choreography, she learned the hard work that goes into each eight-count.
"I'm going to need water and 911 standing on the side," Roberts said. "Because if they make me do a little lift or I have to do a split, something's going to break."
During her day with the squad, she had the chance to learn a fan-favorite routine and of course, the iconic kick line. And with a little practice, Roberts showed she could keep up with the team.
"She got that leg down," said cheerleaders choreographer Judy Trammell.
"She sure did," said the squad's director, Kelli Finglass.
Both Finglass and Trammell are former Cowboys Cheerleaders themselves.
For all her practice, though, Roberts quickly learned how exhausting dancing can be.
"Learning the steps, I had a flashback and thought, 'If I was 27 years younger, I can really do this, and raise my leg up, and have the more energy,'" Roberts said.
Luckily, the seasoned cheerleaders were there to offer some words of advice.
"When you shake your poms, if you shake them into yourself, you fan yourself," cheerleader Meredith Oden said.
Along with seasoned veterans, Roberts got to work with first-year rookies, who are still fighting for their spots on the squad.
"Anybody during these next few weeks could be eliminated," Finglass said.
Now, they may even have some new competition.


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