Samsung ushers in policy changes following government bribery scandal

Following last week's arrest of acting head and heir to Samsung Lee Jae-yong, the company has finally spoken out on the bribery charges. It turns out Samsung's head was embroiled in a bribery scandal involving politicians over in South Korea, in response, Samsung is now promising greater transparency and oversight with all future political donations set to be publicized and subject to board approval.

In the company's press release, Samsung states that any donations totalling at least 1 billion won (£770,000) will be subject to approval from the board of directors. If approval is gained, it will also be publicly disclosed.

Previously, Samsung's policy meant that donations of up to 680 billion won could be made without approval of the board and a public disclosure policy does not appear to have been in place.

These changes are all coming into effect after Samsung's Lee Jae-yong was charged with bribery following the impeachment of South Korean President, Park Geun-hye. At the moment, South Korean special prosecutors are accusing Lee of paying up to 43 billion won to organisations backed by President Park in exchange for favours from the government. This corruption led to President Park's impeachment and led to the investigation into Samsung.

KitGuru Says: This isn't a great time for Samsung to be embroiled in political scandals, so it looks like the company wants to respond and deal with the heat as best it can. Having more disclosure seems like a good way of doing that. 

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