It has been a week since Yoon stopped the Q&As.
S. Korean presidential office installs wall blocking reporters after halting informal Q&A sessions
Hope his underlings don't realize that stopping the daily Q&As will help his approval rating.
There is a regulation for insurance companies, like Samsung Life Insurance where assets, like shares of Samsung Electronics, are valued at their purchased price instead of current price. This regulation helps Samsung Chairman Lee maintain control of Samsung Electronics, while he only holds a 1.63% stake.
Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung C&T Corporation hold 8.5% and 5% stakes, respectively, in Samsung Electronics. Other group companies also hold stakes in Samsung Electronics.
Lee holds a 10% stake in Samsung Life Insurance. Other group companies also hold stakes Samsung Life. Through these stakes in controls Samsung Life Insurance which has an 8.5% stake in Samsung Electronics. Lee's 10% stake in Samsung Life Insurance is worth KRW 1.4 trillion (about USD 1 billion), while the 8.5% stake in Samsung Electronics that it holds is worth over KRW 30 trillion.
Anyway, if the regulation is changed, then due to other regulations, Samsung Life Insurance will have to sell a 5% stake in Samsung Electronics within seven years, at most.
The bill to revise the regulation is being discussed in committee meetings. If the bill passes, then it will be sent for vote to the parliament.
Samsung has managed to prevent this bill from being voted on twice before since 2017. While the ownership structure of Samsung Electronics will remain basically the same, the bill could slightly reduce Lee's hold on the company.
