China News Service, December 30. According to Korean media reports, South Korea’s Seoul High Court opened a court session on the 30th and retrialed the Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong’s bribery case for the last time. The independent prosecution team asked the court to sentence Lee Jae-yong to 9 years in prison.
Data map: Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of South Korea's Samsung Group, leaves the Seoul Detention Center.
The independent inspection team stated that Samsung has an overwhelming power among South Korean companies. For the sound development of society, Samsung should show a model of resolutely responding to corruption.
In the case of cronies, Samsung is more likely to commit crimes and evade responsibility than other companies with less influence.
In both the first and second trials before the retrial of the case, the independent prosecutors asked the court for the sentence of 12 years in prison for Li Zairong, and the sentence presented this time was lower than the previous two.
The independent prosecution team said that this was because the Supreme Court found that Li Zairong was partially suspected.
According to previous reports, it usually takes about a month from the final public trial to the verdict. The decision on whether to arrest Li Zairong is expected to be made in early 2021.
Lee Jae-yong was involved in the scandal of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye's “confidentiality in politics”. He was accused of donating and bribery to a consortium controlled by Park Geun-hye’s “best friend” Choi Sun-sil in order to facilitate the inheritance of Samsung.
In 2019, the South Korean Supreme Court sent the case back for retrial.
Li Zairong was sentenced to 5 years in prison in the first instance, and 2 years and 6 months in prison in the second instance, suspended for 4 years, and released.
In October 2020, the Seoul High Court initiated a retrial of the case.