SEOUL, South Korea – Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong will not appeal against a court ruling that sentenced him to two and a half years in prison for bribing the South Korean vice president for business favors.
Lee’s lawyers informed reporters of the decision Monday as prosecutors opposed a deadline to file a petition to the Supreme Court, which would extend the legal saga over the business group. largest in South Korea. They had sought a nine-year prison term for Lee, and their case clarified often corrupt links between the nation’s family gatherings and politicians.
The bribery allegation involving Lee was a major offense in the 2016 corruption scandal that ousted Park Geun-hye from the presidency and imprisoned her.
In a lawsuit awaited by Lee last week, the Seoul High Court found him guilty of bribing Park and one of her nephews to gain government support for the 2015 union of two affiliates. Samsung. The agreement helped strengthen Lee’s control of Samsung’s corporate empire.
Lee had portrayed himself as a victim of a president’s abuse of power and his lawyers criticized the ruling. But after extinguishing his options, Lee decided to “humbly accept” the Supreme Court’s decision, his lawyer Injae Lee said.
Samsung did not issue a statement on Lee Jae-yong’s legal cases. Prosecutors on Monday afternoon have not revealed whether to appeal against the Supreme Court ruling, which has been criticized by some protesters as being too lenient.
Lee, 52, leads the Samsung group in his role as vice chairman of Samsung Electronics 005930,
one of the world’s largest manufacturers of computer chips and smartphones. In addition to the bribery case, Lee was also charged with the issue of handling stock prices, breach of trust and investigation of breaches related to the 2015 merger between Samsung C&T 028260,
and Hidden Industries.
Like other family gatherings in South Korea, Samsung has been credited with leading the country’s economy to one of the largest in the world since the devastation of the 1950-53 Korean War. But their unclear property structure and often corrupt connection with bureaucrats and government officials have been seen as a real culprit for corruption in South Korea.
Although he has never committed a legal offense, Lee has regretted causing “public concern” over a corruption scandal and worked to improve Samsung’s public image. He said Samsung’s estate transfers would come to an end, promising that the ruling rights he inherited from his father would not be passed on to his children. He also said that Samsung would stop thwarting workers ’efforts to form unions, although labor activists have questioned his mercy.
It is not immediately clear what his prison term would mean for Samsung as a business. Samsung showed no particular signs of trouble the previous time Lee was jailed in 2017 and 2018, and prison terms did not stop corporate executives from diverting their business decisions from behind bars.
The Supreme Court earlier this month upheld a 20-year prison sentence for Park for the Samsung case and other bribes and racism while in office from 2013 to 2016.