Samsung’s Note 7 crisis sows seeds of rebellion on home turf
Seoul — Samsung Group, for decades the corporate champion of South Korea, is now facing a revolt at home. On Monday, hundreds of owners of Samsung Electronics Company’s fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 filed a class-action lawsuit demanding compensation. Hours earlier, a South Korean investment advisory firm recommended shareholders vote against Vice Chairman Jay Y Lee joining the board, in the strongest public opposition so far to the heir-apparent’s ascension. The twin setbacks come as the phonemaker grapples with the most serious crisis in its 47-year history, the debacle surrounding the global recall of a phone that’s been documented overheating and bursting into flame. That brouhaha has pierced the company’s aura of invulnerability at home, and could prompt greater scrutiny of a national champion that once could do no wrong. "Samsung may have become a bit too conceited over the years. A lot has happened that would never have happened at Samsung in the past," said Park Ju-gun, president...
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