SOUTH KOREA: Court lessens charges, reduces jail-term against Samsung heir

Relative relief has come the way of Samsung heir Jay Y. Lee after a South Korean appeals court reduced his five-year jail term, dismissed a number of charges against him in a corruption scandal and allowed him to go home.

Lee was initially handed a suspended sentence of 2.5 years by the Seoul High Court on Monday after nearly a year in detention but was freed after the hearing of an appeal he filed against the ruling.

Counsel to Lee expressed his “respect for the court’s courage and wisdom to give a not guilty verdict of key charges.”

Read also: Jailing of Samsung chief sparks protests in South Korea

Lee was handed a five-year sentence after a six-month trial over a scandal that brought down the then president, Park Geun-hye.

The 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.

Lee who denied any wrongdoing in the case is the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and son of the Samsung group head Lee Kun-hee.

He was also accused of paying nearly $40milliom in bribes to Park’s secret confidante to secure policy favours.

 

RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears

Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest update

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now