Samsung Heir to Be Freed From Prison After Court Reduces Sentence
- 6 years ago
Samsung Heir to Be Freed From Prison After Court Reduces Sentence
5, 2018
HONG KONG — Lee Jae-yong, heir to South Korea’s Samsung corporate empire, is due to be freed from prison after an
appeals court on Monday reduced the sentence given to him last year for bribery, embezzlement and other charges.
The younger Mr. Lee was indicted last year on charges of bribing Ms. Park, South Korea’s
president at the time, to strengthen his control over Samsung’s businesses.
The accusations against Mr. Lee were part of one of the largest influence-peddling scandals in the country’s history, one
that has already toppled Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s former president.
Mr. Lee’s father, Lee Kun-hee, Samsung’s group chairman, has twice been convicted of white-collar crimes — and twice spared prison time.
The decision is a blow to South Korean prosecutors who had hoped the longer sentence would send a signal
that the authorities would no longer mete out only light punishments for lawbreaking corporate titans.
Mr. Lee’s lawyers acknowledged the payments but argued that Ms. Park had coerced Mr. Lee into making them.
5, 2018
HONG KONG — Lee Jae-yong, heir to South Korea’s Samsung corporate empire, is due to be freed from prison after an
appeals court on Monday reduced the sentence given to him last year for bribery, embezzlement and other charges.
The younger Mr. Lee was indicted last year on charges of bribing Ms. Park, South Korea’s
president at the time, to strengthen his control over Samsung’s businesses.
The accusations against Mr. Lee were part of one of the largest influence-peddling scandals in the country’s history, one
that has already toppled Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s former president.
Mr. Lee’s father, Lee Kun-hee, Samsung’s group chairman, has twice been convicted of white-collar crimes — and twice spared prison time.
The decision is a blow to South Korean prosecutors who had hoped the longer sentence would send a signal
that the authorities would no longer mete out only light punishments for lawbreaking corporate titans.
Mr. Lee’s lawyers acknowledged the payments but argued that Ms. Park had coerced Mr. Lee into making them.