Lee Jae-yong: South Korea’s Top Court Upholds Acquittal Of Samsung Chairman
In 2024, the Seoul Central
District Court acquitted Lee of charges like
stock price manipulation and accounting fraud by ruling that prosecutors failed
to sufficiently prove the merger was unlawfully conducted with an aim to
strengthen Lee’s control over Samsung.
The Seoul High Court upheld
the district court’s ruling in February, and the Supreme Court dismissed
prosecutors’ appeal of the high court’s decision Thursday. Its ruling is final
and cannot be appealed.
Samsung’s lawyers said in a statement that they “sincerely thank”
the Supreme Court for “wisely” ruling on the case. They said the ruling
confirmed the 2015 merger was legitimate.
Lee, a third-generation corporate heir who was officially appointed chairman of
Samsung Electronics in 2022, has led the Samsung
group of companies since 2014, when his late father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a
heart attack. The senior Lee died in 2020.
Lee Jae-yong served 18 months in prison after being convicted in
2017 on separate bribery charges related to the 2015 merger.
He was originally sentenced to five years in prison for offering
bribes to then-President Park Geun-hye and her close confidante to win
government support for the merger, which was key to strengthening his control
over the Samsung business empire and solidifying the father-to-son leadership
succession.
Lee was paroled in 2021 and
pardoned by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2022.
Some
shareholders opposed the 2015 merger, saying it unfairly benefited the Lee
family while hurting minority shareholders.
Comments
Post a Comment