Oh no, you're thinking, yet another cookie pop-up. Well, sorry, it's the law. We measure how many people read us, and ensure you see relevant ads, by storing cookies on your device. If you're cool with that, hit “Accept all Cookies”. For more info and to customize your settings, hit “Customize Settings”.

Review and manage your consent

Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and how to manage them. You can also change your choices at any time, by hitting the “Your Consent Options” link on the site's footer.

Manage Cookie Preferences
  • These cookies are strictly necessary so that you can navigate the site as normal and use all features. Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect.

  • These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests.

  • These cookies collect information in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used. They allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our sites. If people say no to these cookies, we do not know how many people have visited and we cannot monitor performance.

See also our Cookie policy and Privacy policy.

This article is more than 1 year old

Samsung heir walks free after appeals court quashes bribery charges

Lee Jae-yong to challenge remaining corruption allegations

The heir to Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, has been freed with a suspended sentence after spending a year in jail on charges of offering bribes to the disgraced former president of South Korea, Park Geun-hye.

Last year, Lee was sentenced to five years behind bars for corruption after a six-month trial.

He had been charged with offering $38m (£27m) in bribes to the former president, who is being held in a detention centre, and her confidant Choi Soon-sil in the hope of receiving favours. The Seoul court had also found him guilty of hiding assets abroad, embezzlement and perjury.

But today Seoul's appeals court rejected most of the bribery charges against Lee. However, it still found him guilty of giving 3.6bn won (£2.3m) for equestrian training of Choi's daughter and embezzling Samsung funds.

The appeals court halved Lee's sentence to two-and-a-half years, suspended for four years. It said Samsung had not sought any favours from Park Geun-hye.

"This is a case where Ms Park intimidated Samsung's management and her friend pursued personal interests," the court said in the ruling. "The defendant passively offered bribes because he could not easily turn down their request."

Lee will appeal the remaining bribery charges at the country's supreme court.

The ruling means Lee will be able to return to the helm of the electronics conglomerate.

Just last week, Samsung posted bumper annual results on the back of high memory chip demand, with yearly operating profit up 83 per cent to 53.7 trillion won (£35.4bn). ®

 

Similar topics

Similar topics

Similar topics

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like