South Korean President Moon Jae-in will drop by Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphone manufacturing plant in India to attend its opening ceremony on July 9 while he is in the country for a four-day state visit from July 8 to 11, the presidential office said Thursday.

The Korean tech giant holds the ceremony next Monday to mark the completion of its second smartphone factory in Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The company invested 800 billion won ($713.7 million) to double the capacity of the plant which will begin operation in the latter half from 5 million units per month to 10 million units.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee who has kept low-profile since he was released from prison in February after the appeals court cut short his sentence in a bribery case in connection with impeached President Park Geun-hye is expected to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which could have him face the president for the first time.

The encounter comes as Samsung Group has come under all-around probe and scrutiny from antitrust and financial authorities to prosecutors since the liberal government took office in May last year. Lee spent a year in prison before he was released.

By Hwang Hyung-gyu and Choi Mira

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]