Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong sentenced to 30 months in prison in bribery case
- The Samsung Electronics vice-chairman, also known as Jay Y. Lee, was convicted of bribing an associate of former president Park Geun-hye
- Lee, who already served a year in a South Korean prison before being released on appeal, will be sidelined from making major business decisions
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The Supreme Court then sent the case back to the Seoul High Court, which issued Monday’s ruling.
The court found Lee guilty of bribery, embezzlement and concealment of criminal proceeds worth about 8.6 billion won (US$7.8 million), and said the independent compliance committee Samsung set up early last year has yet to become fully effective.
“[Lee] has shown willingness for management with newly stronger compliance, as he has vowed to create a transparent company,” said Presiding Judge Jeong Jun-yeong.
“Despite some shortcomings … I hope that over time, it will be evaluated as a milestone in the history of Korean companies as a start of compliance ethics for a greater leap forward,” he said.
Lee, dressed in a dark coat and silver tie and standing to hear the sentencing, sat down after it was read.
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“The nature of this case is the former president’s abuse of power violating corporate freedom and property rights. Given that nature, the court’s decision is regrettable,” Lee’s lawyer, Lee In-jae, told reporters.
With Lee returning to prison, the year he already served in detention is expected to count toward the sentence – leaving 18 months of his sentence to be served.
Under South Korean law, a jail term of three years or less can be suspended; for longer sentences, the person must serve out the term barring a presidential pardon.
Prosecutors called for a nine-year jail term.
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Monday’s sentencing can be appealed to the Supreme Court within seven days, the judge said, but legal experts said that because the Supreme Court has already ruled on it once, chances are lower that its legal interpretation will change.
“In a case sent back by the Supreme Court, there is a narrower range of options for the judges’ bench … but it’s also true that the Supreme Court can’t really touch the final court’s sentencing,” said Rha Seung-chul, a lawyer not connected with the case.
Shares in Samsung Electronics dropped as much as 4 per cent after the ruling, while shares in affiliates such as Samsung C&T, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung SDI also fell sharply.
