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Management and Shareholders Are Not the Same
The point is simple: management and shareholders are not the same thing. Chairman Lee Jae-yong is both, and the original criticism targeted the Samsung family's control structure as minority shareholders, not the management accountable to the company.
The point: management and shareholders are not the same.
Chairman Lee Jae-yong is both a shareholder and a member of management.
The crux of the original criticism:
It had nothing to do with how Samsung Electronics is actually run.
It was a critique of the control structure by which the Samsung family, as minority shareholders, holds power,
and that is a separate matter from criticizing the management that bears responsibility to the company.
Originally published on Brunch · May 23, 2026