Samsung Group try to convince a panel his prosecution for alleged financial crimes would be unfair.Attorneys for Jay Y. Lee, de facto leader of Samsung Electronics Co., will square off against government prosecutors before a group of 15 academics, legal experts and civil activists.
While not legally binding, their judgment should prove difficult to contravene.Lee, embroiled in an increasingly contentious dispute with Korean prosecutors over allegations of bribery and accounting manipulation, represents the biggest test so far of a civil committee system created to help check prosecutors’ powers.
Friday’s panel serves as a barometer for how the public views the Samsung chief’s culpability as well as a test of the legitimacy of prosecutors,.