conservative protest tents at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square.
“The future of our nation depends on Samsung. Please understand!”
explained a military veteran.
“Samsung bought this nation,” argued a protester across the street.
“Samsung bought our government. We must stop this merger today!”
Around 9:30 A.M. I headed down to Seoul’s Yangjae district, where the
vote was starting a half hour late at the Samsung C&T building.
The 553 stakeholders present were packed into a room built for a
hundred people. Investors were crammed in along the aisles and in the
back. Outbursts of emotion and frustration were evident everywhere. One
shareholder stormed the stage and shouted into the microphone, “I strongly
oppose the merger!” Securities guards quickly ushered him away.
Outside, I hoped to catch a glimpse of Samsung’s ruling family. But as
usual, they didn’t show up to address the shareholders, the “ants.”
Samsung C&T CEO Choi Chi-hun took the floor and, interrupted by
jeers, presided over the tense meeting. He insisted it was not possible to
change the merger terms.
“If the merger ratio was set at 0.6 or 0.7,” proclaimed an investor, “the
situation would not have turned out like this.” He was feeling ripped off at
the ratio of 0.3, which translated into far less money.
Over the course of the four-hour meeting, shareholders later told me,
one could feel the resentment, the bitterness, the anger, as well as the
loyalty to Samsung, and to South Korea, permeating the room. You either
loved Samsung or you hated it. It was the type of meeting that could have
easily blown up into a brawl. South Korea is famous for its parliamentary
fistfights and physical scuffles in corporate shareholder meetings.
From newsrooms to coffee shops, from corporate offices to breakfast
restaurants, South Koreans watched tensely as the vote began. A team of
employees went around the room, holding up large plastic boxes for each
stakeholder, including representatives from the National Pension Service,
to insert paper ballots. Elliott’s and Samsung’s lawyers watched closely.
The ballots were collected and the vote counted. After a few knuckle-
biting minutes, a Samsung representative stood at the front and announced
the results.
69.53 percent of the shareholders voted in favor of the merger.
Samsung managed to get 14 percent more than the number of votes it