WEB DESK
Samsung, the Korean conglomerate’s acting chief Lee Jae has been sentenced to five years in prison. A South Korean court has found Lee Jae-yong guilty of bribery and embezzlement.
The Seoul Central District Court convicted Samsung’s de facto heir of bribing former President Park Geun-hye and her close friend Choi Soon-sil in return for the government’s help in tightening his control over Samsung Group, saying he was in position to benefit most from the bribery scheme.
“The essence of the case is collusive ties between political power and capital power,” presiding Judge Kim Jin-dong said. “As Samsung executives, they had a great deal of negative impact on society and the economy.”
The executive has been sentenced to five years in prison, much shorter than the 12 years he was facing. According to The New York Times, though, that’s long enough to be considered a heavy penalty for a country that’s used to doling out light sentences to major business figures.
Also known as Jay Y. Lee, the executive is technically the “chaebol’s” Vice Chairman, but he’s been running the company for a few years now after his father suffered a heart attack. Lee was arrested earlier this year after Samsung’s involvement in President Park Geun-hye’s scandals came to light.
Lee, who has been detained since February, was found guilty of all five charges — bribery, embezzlement, concealment of criminal proceeds, illegal transfer of assets overseas and perjury.
The court said Lee and Samsung executives offered large bribes to the president, who held “immense power and the ultimate authority,” and embezzled company funds, hid assets overseas and concealed profits from criminal acts in the process, all expecting a favor in the form of Samsung Group’s smooth leadership transition.
Lee, 49, was groomed to lead the conglomerate that was founded by his grandfather and became such a dominating force in South Korea that it’s mockingly called “Republic of Samsung” by the public.
He took a higher profile role at the world’s largest maker of smartphones, television sets and microchips that power consumer electronics after his father suffered a heart attack in 2014 and was poised to cement control. Instead, at the end of last year Lee was implicated in a massive political scandal that culminated in President Park Geun-hye’s ouster.
The court said he was guilty of offering bribes to the former president and her close friend Choi Soon-sil to facilitate a smooth handover of power at Samsung, which is a publicly traded company. Park and Choi are also on trial. A Samsung lawyer said the guilty verdict would be appealed.