Jailing of Samsung chief sparks protests in South Korea

The jailing of Samsung heir Jay Y. Lee who was found guilty of bribery after a six-month trial has been greeted with angry demonstrations by hundreds of die-hard supporters of ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

A court in South Korea had found Lee guilty of bribery and sentenced him to five-years in prison after a six-month trial over a scandal that brought down the then president, Park Geun-hye.

Driven by their belief of Park’s innocence over a scandal that brought her down, many protesters, mostly older women and men, turned out for Lee, whose conviction, they believe, would almost certainly mean a guilty verdict for Park in her trial.

“Our ultimate goal is President Park Geun-hye’s acquittal and release,” Kim Won-joon, a 62-year-old former construction worker said after the court ruling.

The South Korean court ruled that Lee had paid bribes in anticipation of favours from Park in a watershed for the country’s decades-long economic order dominated by powerful, family-run conglomerates.

Read also: Samsung heir arrested, indicted on bribery charges

“This case is a matter of Lee Jae-yong and Samsung Group executives, who had been steadily preparing for Lee’s succession … bribing the president,” Seoul Central District Court Judge Kim Jin-dong said, using Lee’s Korean name.

However, Lee denied any wrongdoing, and one of his lawyers, Song Wu-cheol, said he would appeal.

“The entire guilty verdict is unacceptable,” Song said, adding he was confident his client’s innocence would be affirmed by a higher court. The case is expected to be appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court, likely next year.

Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and son of the Samsung group head Lee Kun-hee, is accused of paying nearly $40milliom in bribes to Park’s secret confidante to secure policy favours.

 

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