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Samsung boss Jay Y. Lee on the way to court in Seoul
Photo: Soo-Hyeon Kim / REUTERS
In a trial involving alleged accounting fraud and share price manipulation, a court acquitted the head of the South Korean electronics company Samsung on Monday. Prosecutors, who can appeal this verdict, had asked for five years in prison for Jay Y. Lee.
In the $8 billion merger of two Samsung subsidiaries in 2015, Lee and other managers are alleged to have disregarded the rights of minority shareholders. Lee had denied the allegations.
The case concerned Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries. Before their merger, Lee's family controlled Cheil, but not Samsung C&T. The latter was a major shareholder in the smartphone and consumer electronics provider Samsung Electronics, the crown jewel of the entire group. Lee's family and affiliated companies currently hold almost 21 percent of Samsung Electronics.
South Korea's largest corporate conglomerates are still owned and controlled by their founding families. Public opinion has long wavered between recognition of their role in the country's economic success and anger over various scandals. A few years ago, Samsung boss Lee spent a total of 18 months in prison for bribing former South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
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