The CEO of Samsung was convicted on Tuesday for illegal use of propofol, a powerful anesthetic.
Lee Jae-yong, 53, heir and de facto boss of the South Korean conglomerate, was fined 70 million won (52,000 euros) by the Seoul court.
The 238th richest man in the world, according to
Forbes
, has been found guilty of consuming propofol multiple times in recent years at a cosmetic surgery clinic in Seoul.
Normally used as an anesthetic in surgery and in intensive care units, this product is sometimes taken recreationally as a narcotic substance.
Several court cases
During the trial in early October, Lee Jae-yong's attorneys argued that the substance was administered to him for medical reasons.
But “the quantity injected was very high,” the judge said on Tuesday when he delivered his verdict.
“And the nature of the crime committed is not light considering the social responsibilities exercised by the accused.
The accused did not speak at the hearing.
Vice President of Samsung Electronics, a global smartphone and chip maker, Lee Jae-yong took over as head of the conglomerate when his father died in 2020. In January, Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment. prison for corruption, embezzlement and other crimes related to the corruption scandal involving former South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
He was released on parole in August, the government being worried about the consequences of this sentence for Samsung, pillar of the country's economy.
Lee Jae-yong is also involved in the case of the controversial merger of two subsidiaries that had favored his takeover of the conglomerate.
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