Vice Chairman Lee Jay-yong of Samsung Electronics, 1st L, arrives on the Riyadh Metro Project site where Samsung C&T men are at work as part of the consortium since 2013 when the consortium won the huge project to encourage the men at the project site in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sept. 14.

Vice Chairman Lee Jay-yong of Samsung Electronics took off on a tour of Saudi Arabia on Sept. 14, a day after the Chuseok holiday, to inspect the Riyadh Metro Project that Samsung C&T has been undertaking and encourage the company’s officers and workers on the subway construction project in the Saudi capital.

What was surprising in his trip was that his bribery court case involving former president Park Geun-hye is still pending in the court. According to Samsung Electronics on Sept. 15, the vice chairman went straight to the subway construction site and met with the Samsung C&T people to show that he appreciates their hard work on the project.

He also called on Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman at his invitation to reciprocate the welcome he got while in Seoul from the Samsung vice chairman. He was invited to the Seungji Won, a luxury Samsung guest house, as a special guest, and had a lengthy talk with the vice chairman.

“The Middle East region has now become a land of opportunities in the 21st century as the countries in the region try to find new growth engines in place of the crude oil wells and the sweats you shed would open the way for finding new opportunities which would lead to the great results for tomorrow,” the vice chairman told the officers and workers at the project site.

They kicked off the subway construction project six years ago in 2013, which was ordered by late king Abdul Aziz. Samsung C and T has been working on the three lines of the subway project as a member of the consortium that includes FCC of Spain, and Alsthom of France, who are working on the remaining three lines. The entire project is due to be completed by next year.

It is the first time the vice chairman visited a project site for an affiliate of Samsung Group other than Samsung Electronics in Saudi Arabia. The reason for the visit soon became clear as the vice chairman became fully informed of the strategic importance of the Arab nation’s plan to develop growth engines in the IT industry, including 5G and Smart City.

When the Saudi prince visited Seoul in June, the vice chairman invited him to the Seungji Won, the special guest house of Samsung Group and had a long talk with him on what Samsung can do to help his country in terms of industrial cooperation.

Vice Chairman Lee Jay-yong shakes hands with an employee at Samsung C&T office in the Arab country. (Photos: Samsung Group)

The heads of other Korean conglomerates, including Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group, Senior Vice Chairman Chung Ui-sun of Hyundai Motor Group, Chairman Shin Dong-bin of Lotte Group and Chairman Koo Gwang-mo of LG Group, visited the Samsung guest house to share tea with the Saudi Crown Prince.

Three days before the arrival of the Saudi prince in Seoul, the vice chairman had a lunch with the key officials of Samsung C&T at its building in Sangil-dong, Seoul, where they discussed the Riyadh Metro Project.

The vice chairman holds the largest share of Samsung C&T at 17.2 percent. In February, the vice chairman travelled to Xian, China, to bvisit the second chip plant of Samsung Electronics.

On the New Year’s Day in 2016, the vice chairman met with Chairman Mark Zuckerburg of Facebook during his tour of the U.S. and on Chuseok in the same year, he met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visited Seoul.