[Courtesy of Samsung]
SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics will go ahead with the second retirement of shares valued at the market price of 22 trillion won (19.6 billion) next week to enhance the treatment of shareholders as promised last year following the arrest of Jay Y. Lee for his role in a massive corruption scandal.
Samsung said Friday its board approved the retirement of 449.5 million common shares and 87.4 million preferred shares on December 4. The amount represents seven percent of all common shares and nine percent of all preferred shares.
In April last year, the world's largest smartphone maker came up with a decision to retire 899 million common shares and 161 million preferred shares. The first retirement was made a month later.
South Korea's family-run conglomerates have been under pressure to increase dividends, improve the treatment of shareholders and introduce more transparent holding company structures. Some big companies increased share buybacks and canceled treasury shares, but any significant change has yet to come.
Lee was arrested in February last year for bribing South Korea's ousted ex-president Park Geun-hye and received a five-year prison sentence. He was released in February this year after a high court suspended his sentence to ease widespread jitters in South Korea's business community about Samsung's global competitiveness.
