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Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has emphasised the importance of "bold" investments during a visit to Samsung SDI's battery production line in Malaysia, the company said on Monday.

The visit was made in Lee's first overseas trip since he was cleared of all charges in a court ruling on the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates allegedly conducted to help him take over control of South Korea's biggest conglomerate.

"We should not be focusing solely on short-term performances, but rather lead changes by rolling out bold challenges," Lee was quoted by Samsung Electronics as saying during the visit to the factory in Seremban, 65 kms south of Kuala Lumpur.

Samsung has been building an additional production line in the region with a budget of 1.7 trillion won ($1.2 billion) since 2022, reports Yonhap news agency.

Lee also visited Kuala Lumpur to check local consumers' responses to the company's latest Galaxy S24 smartphone, the company added.

Last week, prosecutors appealed a recent court acquittal of Samsung Chairman Jae-yong in a controversial Samsung affiliate merger case.

The prosecution had demanded a five-year prison sentence for the chief of South Korea's largest conglomerate.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s fourth-quarter operating profit sank 34.4 per cent from a year earlier due largely to sluggish semiconductor business but its memory chip segment turned to the black on recovering demand.