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The Samsung logo on the window of one of the South Korean company’s offices in Gangnam, central Seoul. (iStock)
- The Seoul High Court first jailed Jay Y. Lee in 2017 after convicting the billionaire for his role in a corruption scandal that toppled former President Park Geun-hye; however, the Supreme Court overturned that verdict and ordered a new trial in 2019.
- The Samsung executive, who initially spent a year in prison, was accused of offering horses and other payments to a friend of the former president to gain support for his formal succession to the corporation.
- The ruling creates a vacuum at the top of the world’s largest producer of memory chips, smartphones and home appliances.
Samsung Electronics heir Jay Y. Lee was sentenced to two years and six months in prison on bribery charges, concluding a years-long corruption trial that sparked outrage over cordial relations between government and business.
Monday’s ruling leaves the top decision maker at the world’s largest electronics company behind bars at a time of unprecedented global uncertainty.
The Seoul High Court first jailed Lee in 2017 after convicting the billionaire for his role in a corruption scandal that toppled former President Park Geun-hye. The de facto leader of the Samsung Group served a year in prison but was released in February 2018 after his original five-year sentence was cut in half and suspended. The Supreme Court overturned that verdict and ordered a new trial in 2019.
Lee, 52, has been embroiled in a legal fight that began four years ago and grew out of a controversial merger in 2015. The Samsung executive was accused of offering horses and other payments to a friend of the former president to gain support for his formal succession. in the corporation. The Supreme Court upheld a 20-year prison term for Park last week, citing far-reaching charges, including bribery related to Samsung.
Shares of Samsung Electronics fell nearly 4% after the ruling was read aloud.
The ruling creates a void at the top of the world’s largest producer of memory chips, smartphones and consumer devices at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is exacerbating growing uncertainty around the relationship between the United States and China and the intensification of competition. While Samsung’s day-to-day business is run by an army of managers, Lee’s absence can stall or complicate massive investments or longer-term strategic moves. The executive plays an active role in the company, frequently joining public and government-related events after being released from prison.
During the last hearing on December 30, Lee read a lengthy personal apology for the case, reiterating the promises he first made in May, emphasizing his effort to make the Samsung company great while pledging not to repeat the ones. bad deeds of the past no longer do it. pass the power on to your children. Lee’s rise to the Samsung presidency after his father’s death in October is likely to be delayed until he is released.
On the other hand, it faces another case related to a controversial merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 2015, centered on accusations ranging from violation of capital market law to breach of duty. Lee will have to attend the hearings in that case from jail.
