The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to file a complaint against Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who submitted false data related to the two companies that Samsung possessed under the borrowed names.
The FTC detected the fact that when Chairman Lee submitted data for the designation of mutual investment-restricted business groups in 2014, he intentionally omitted the two companies under Samsung`s borrowed names. As a result, it has decided to sue Chairman Lee to the National Tax Service, the FTC announced on Nov. 14.
The two companies under Samsung`s borrowed names are Samoo Architects & Engineers and its sister company Seoyoung.
According to the FTC, Samwoo was disguised as an executive's name but it turned out that Samsung C&T was the real owner from the establishment year of 1979 to August 2014. Seo Young is a 100% subsidiary of Samwoo.
The equity share of Samwoo was 47 percent for Samsung Construction, 47 percent for Shinwon Development (now the construction part of Samsung C&T) and 6 percent for a Samsung executive until March 1982.
Until August 2014 since then, the owners of the stocks were transferred to Samwoo executives in outward appearance, but the real owner was Samsung Construction, according to the FTC.
"Samwoo and Samsung affiliates have actively engaged in personnel exchanges. Samwoo has enjoyed a high profit margin by obtaining about half of its sales from internal transactions with Samsung affiliates," an FTC official said.