Seoul (AFP)
The South Korean Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that ex-president Park Geun-hye and Samsung Empire heir Lee Jae-yong be retried in a massive corruption scandal, inflicting a blow on the world's biggest manufacturer of smartphones.
The first woman elected president in South Korea, Ms. Park, 67, is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence after being convicted on appeal last year of corruption and abuse of power, among others.
Vice President of Samsung Electronics and son of the president of the Samsung Group, which is by far the largest conglomerate in South Korea, Mr Lee had on appeal in February 2018 that his sentence to five years in prison be reduced to stay.
Their trials had cast a harsh light on the troubled acquaintances between South Korean family groups and political power, through Ms. Park and her shadow confidante Choi Soon-sil who had accepted bribes in the past. exchange of political favors.
- Bad news -
On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered that Park and Choi and Mr. Lee be retried, citing errors from the High Court.
After ten months of a trial that she had boycotted, Ms. Park was sentenced in April 2018 for a number of crimes.
She was convicted of receiving or asking for more than $ 20 million from South Korean conglomerates, sharing classified documents, blacklisting critics of her politics, and to have dismissed officials who opposed his abuse of power. And his sentence of 24 years of detention had been increased by one year on appeal.
On Thursday, the high court broke the appeal decision on procedural grounds, claiming that the court should have rendered a separate decision in the corruption part of this sprawling affair.
"We are sending the case back to the Seoul High Court," said Kim Myeong-su, chairman of the court.
South Korean media said the move could be bad news for Ms. Park, who was fired in 2017 after protracted demonstrations, as she could ultimately face a longer sentence if found guilty in two trials. distinct.
- Three horses -
The scandal had revealed the enormous influence on the president of Ms. Choi, her "40-year-old friend" nicknamed "Rasputin" by the media and who did not hold any official office.
Mr. Lee was sued in particular for the millions of dollars that Samsung had paid to Choi Soon-Sil, whose prosecution argued that they were intended to buy political favors. Such as allowing a smooth transition to the head of Samsung.
Judge Kim said on Thursday that the High Court's ruling, which had been very favorable to Lee, was "a misinterpretation of the corruption law".
In particular, the Supreme Court found that the three horses worth 3.4 billion won (€ 2.5 million) that the Samsung group had donated to the equestrian center of Mr. Choi's daughter were corruption offense.
It is unclear whether Mr. Lee, who is the de facto boss of the world's largest smartphone and chip maker, will return to jail pending his trial. But experts believe that this shutdown necessarily complicates the management of Samsung Electronics.
"This will slow down the decision-making process in all areas," Ahn Ki-hyun, vice president of the South Korean Semiconductor Industry Association, told AFP.
- Samsung backs off -
The technology giant, which had deplored a 53% drop in net profit in the second quarter, is already facing the collapse of the world flea price and the effects of Japanese trade sanctions.
In a statement on Thursday, the group said "deeply regret" the concern, adding without mentioning the judgment: we "avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
Samsung shares closed Thursday down 1.7%.
At the heart of the scandal, Ms. Choi-daughter of a mysterious religious leader- was sentenced in 2018 to 20 years of criminal imprisonment, including for taking advantage of her former personal ties with Ms. Park to compel large groups to pay funds to foundations under his control.
Hundreds of former president's supporters had gathered outside the Supreme Court, with placards calling for an end to "human rights violations" against the daughter of former murdered dictator Park Chung hee.
© 2019 AFP