Samsung merger that sparked anti-Semitism approved

Shareholders approved a merger of two Samsung affiliates in South Korea that sparked anti-Semitic expression in the local media.

The merger of the construction company Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries was approved Friday at a meeting of general shareholders. The New York-based hedge fund Elliott Associates, which is owned and managed by Paul Singer, who is Jewish, had fought the merger. Elliott Associates was C&T’s second largest shareholder.

The companies are both part of the Samsung Group, the country’s largest family-controlled conglomerate.

In reporting on the proposed merger, at least two South Korean media outlets blamed Jews for attempting to block the deal. One publication wrote that Jewish power on Wall Street “has long been known to be ruthless and merciless.” A columnist wrote that “Jews are known to wield enormous power on Wall Street and in global financial circles” and “It is a well-known fact that the US government is swayed by Jewish capital.”

In a letter to the Anti-Defamation League last week, both companies condemned anti-Semitism.

The day before the vote, Samsung C &T removed from its website cartoons attacking Singer, including one depicting him as a vulture and another showing him hiding an axe behind his back while taking money from a man in ragged clothes.