Samsung’s heir-apparent Lee Jae-yong has been sentenced to five years in prison for corruption.
He was accused of bribery in a scandal that also saw the impeachment of South Korea’s former president, Park Geun-hye.
The case has gripped the public amid growing anger against South Korea’s biggest companies, known as chaebols.
Lee Jae-yong, who denied all charges, had faced a jail sentence of up to 12 years.
The 49-year-old, also known as Jay Y. Lee, the de facto head of Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, had been detained since February on a string of corruption charges.
These included including bribery, embezzlement and hiding assets overseas.
Lee Jae-yong was accused of giving donations worth 41 billion won ($36 million) to non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a friend of South Korea’s former President Park Geun-hye, in return for political favors.
Prosecutors said the donations were made to Park Geun-hye’s confidante to win government support for a big restructuring of Samsung that would strengthen Lee Jae-yong’s control over Samsung Electronics.
A lawyer for Lee Jae-yonghas said already said they will appeal against the decision.
“We are confident the ruling will be overturned,” lawyer Song Wu-cheol told reporters after the ruling, according to Reuters.
Nevertheless this ruling represents a huge blow to South Korea’s biggest and most well-known business empire. Since the verdict, Samsung shares fell by 1%.
Lee Jae-yong’s conviction raises questions about his leadership of the conglomerate. He has been standing in as chairman since his father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack in 2014.
The Samsung scandal contributed to President Park Geun-hye’s eventual impeachment. Park Geun-hye’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, has already been jailed for three years for corruption.
Lee Jae-yong’s trial on a string of corruption charges including bribery and embezzlement has begun in South Korea.
The Samsung vice-president and heir apparent was not present at the preliminary hearing, but his lawyer denied all charges on his behalf.
The case is linked to a massive scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.
Four other Samsung executives who are also facing trial have also denied wrongdoing.
The trial is expected to go on for several months.
Image source Reuters
Lee Jae-yong, professionally known as Jay Y. Lee, is currently vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics. But since his father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack in 2014, he is considered de facto boss of the entire Samsung Group conglomerate.
He is accused of giving donations worth 41 billion won ($36 million) non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a friend of Park Geun-hye.
Prosecutors have alleged this was done to win government support for a big restructuring of Samsung that would help a smooth leadership transition in favor of Lee Jae-yong.
In a December parliamentary hearing, Samsung admitted giving a total of 20.4 billion won to two foundations, but denied seeking favors in return.
Lee Jae-yongalso confirmed the company gave a horse and money to help the equestrian career of Choi Soon-sil’s daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, something he said he now regrets.
They included revelations that the president had allowed her old friend – who holds no government role – to edit political speeches.
Politicians voted in December 2016 to impeach her over the scandal. South Korea’s constitutional court is expected to rule shortly on whether that decision will be upheld.
Until then, Park Geun-hye remains formally president but stripped of her powers.
Park Geun-hye denies wrongdoing but has apologized for the way she managed her relationship with Choi Soon-sil, who also denies committing criminal offences.
South Korea’s special prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant for Samsung Electronics vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong, on bribery charges.
The Lee Jae-yong case is linked to a scandal that led to the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geung-hye.
Samsung is accused of giving donations to non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a close friend of Park Geun-hye, in exchange for government favors.
The donations were allegedly made as Samsung sought political support for a merger.
Lee Jae-yong, known professionally as Jay Y. Lee, was questioned for more than 20 hours at the prosecutor’s office in Seoul last week.
Jay Y. Lee is currently vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, but since his father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack in 2014, he is considered de facto boss of the entire Samsung Group conglomerate.
Image source Wikimedia
The news sent Samsung shares lower, with Samsung Electronics stocks down 2% by midday in Seoul, and parent firm Samsung C&T down 0.8%.
A spokesman for the special prosecutor’s office acknowledged the arrest of Lee Jae-yong could be damaging for one of South Korea’s biggest business but said “while the country’s economic conditions are important, upholding justice takes precedence”.
The claims against Samsung center on a controversial merger between the electronics giant’s construction arm, Samsung C&T, and an affiliate company, Cheil Industries.
Prosecutors allege that Samsung gave money to a company co-owned by Choi Soon-sil and her daughter, in return for Park Geun-hye’s support for the deal.
At the parliamentary hearing in December, Samsung admitted giving a total of 20.4 billion won ($17.46 million) to the two foundations, but denied seeking favors.
During that hearing, Lee Jae-yong also said Samsung had made separate payments to help fund Choi Soon-sil’s daughter’s equestrian career, including buying an $850,000 horse – something the Samsung executive says he regrets.
Earlier in the day, the special prosecutor indicted South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) chairman Moon Hyung-pyo on charges of abuse of power and giving false testimony.
The NPS is the world’s third-largest pension scheme and was a major shareholder in the two Samsung Group affiliates. It is claimed Moon Hyung-pyo pressured the organization to back the deal – something the NPS has denied.
Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong has been quizzed at the prosecutor’s office in Seoul as a suspect in South Korea’s biggest political corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye.
Samsung is accused of giving donations to several non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a close friend to President Park Geun-hye.
The donations were allegedly made in exchange for political support of a controversial merger.
The Choi Soon-sil scandal has led to President Park Geun-hye being impeached by South Korea’s parliament last month.
Image source Wikimedia
Lee Jae-yong told reporters upon arriving on January 12: “I deeply apologize to the people for failing to show a positive image because of this incident.”
Earlier this week two other Samsung executives were questioned by the special prosecutors, but were treated as witnesses rather than suspects.
The claims against Samsung circle around a merger between the electronics giant’s construction arm, Samsung C&T, and an affiliate company, Cheil Industries.
Prosecutors allege that Samsung gave €2.8 million euros ($3.1 million) to a company co-owned by Choi Soon-sil and her daughter, in return for Park Geun-hye’s support for the deal.
Lee Jae-yong, known professionally as Jay Y. Lee, has already given evidence to politicians over the scandal, but this is the first time he has been questioned as a suspect by investigators.
At the parliamentary hearing in December, Samsung admitted giving a total of 20.4 billion won ($17.46 million) to the two foundations, but denied seeking favors.
Jay Y. Lee also confirmed Samsung gave a horse and money to help the equestrian career of Choi Soon-sil’s daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, something he said he now regretted.
Choi Soon-sil is on trial for charges including corruption and coercion.
President Park Geun-hye’s position began to unravel in October 2016, when details of her friendship with Choi Soon-sil began to emerge.
They included revelations that Park Geun-hye had allowed Choi Soon-sil – who holds no government role – to edit political speeches.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of protestors have gathered every weekend in Seoul to demand Park Geun-hye’s resignation.
Park Geun-hye denies wrongdoing but has apologized for the way she managed her relationship with Choi Soon-sil, who also denies committing criminal offences.
Lee Jae-yong, known professionally as Jay Y. Lee, is the grandson of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul, son of current chairman Lee Kun-hee.
Aged 48, Lee Jae-yong has spent his entire career in the company and is vice chairman of Samsung Electronics.
Image source Wikimedia
Lee Jae-yong is currently vice-president of Samsung Electronics. But since his father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack in 2014, he is considered de facto boss of the entire Samsung Group conglomerate.
In 2015, Lee Jae-yong was nominated to join the board of Samsung Electronics – an appointment confirmed on October 27.
He is widely expected to take overall control of Samsung once his 74-year-old father steps down.
Critics say Lee Jae-yong’s position on the board is due to his birth, not his business experience.
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
