Disgraced and Convicted Samsung Head Returns

It appears disgrace and crime are not enough to keep an individual from attaining the top position in a global, multi-million dollar company. As Engadget reports, it pays to be a white collar criminal in Korea, as long as you are the son of the founder of Samsung (News - Alert).

Lee Kun-Lee, the former – and disgraced – chairman of the Samsung Group, is coming back to head Samsung Electronics, the company’s largest division. Apparently, a conviction for tax evasion means very little when the conviction is pardoned and jail time is deferred.

Lee’s most recent pardon was completed in an effort to secure a bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. While the company may be concerned over criticism from a local population that is proud of Samsung’s global success while at the same time concerned with the company’s immense power, Lee took a fear approach as the reason for his return.

“[The] best companies in the world are collapsing. We don’t know what is going to happen to Samsung too. In the coming 10 years, businesses and products that represent Samsung today will mostly disappear,” said Lee.

According to an AP report, speculation surrounding Lee’s return increased after he received special amnesty from President Lee Myung-bak in December of 2009. Lee is a member of the International Olympic Committee and the country wanted him to rejoin South Korea’s efforts to host the Olympics.

While this tie is obvious, apparently presidential pardons for convicted tycoons are not unusual in South Korea. The country continues to struggle with a legacy of political and corporate corruption under military-backed governments in the 1960s. This era helped to user in the age of an industrial powerhouse – a vast improvement for what was once one of the world’s poorest countries.

Company spokesman James Chung noted that the decision to call Lee back as chairman came at a meeting of a committee of presidents of various Samsung businesses. Lee has long been considered the key driving force behind the company’s rise to global prominence.

“We are facing a real crisis,” Lee said in an English-language statement issued by Samsung. “Many global companies are experiencing enormous challenge and uncertainty of the future, and Samsung is no exception.”

Engadget highlights that analysts are predicting the most profitable year ever for Samsung Electronics – no matter who is in the driver’s seat.

In fact, Samsung posted record revenue of $119.72 billion last year on a consolidated basis — which includes the performance of its overseas and domestic subsidiaries excluding financial businesses. Over the past decade, the company has become one of the world’s top technology companies. Considering the company’s position, do they really need Lee?