Jay Y. Lee, the billionaire head of Samsung Group of South Korea, was condemned to 5 Years for bribery in jail last week in a crisis for the decades-long financial order of the country ruled by family-run and powerful corporations.
Post a trial for 6 month for a scandal that took down the president of that time, Park Geun-hye, the court took a decision that Lee had given bribes in expectations of favors from Park. The court also found Lee guilty of embezzlement, hiding assets abroad, and perjury. The 49-year-old successor to one of the biggest corporate companies of the world, Lee, has been held on charges since February that he gave bribe to Park to assist secure management of a corporation that possesses the leading chip maker and smartphone of the world, Samsung Electronics, and has interests ranging from home appliances and drugs to hotels and insurance.
Lee, who came out from the Seoul courtroom stony-faced in a black suit, but with no tie, and holding a paper envelope, was accompanied by officials of justice ministry back to his center of custody. “This case is a matter of Samsung Group executives and Lee Jae-yong, who had been progressively gearing up for succession of Lee giving bribe to the president,” Kim Jin-dong, the Seoul Central District Court Judge said to the media in an interview. Kim claimed that as the heir of the group, Lee stood to advantage for the most from any political favors for the company. Lee deprived of crime, and Song Wu-cheol, one of his lawyers, claimed that he might appeal.
“The whole verdict of guilty is intolerable,” Song claimed, adding he was sure that innocence of his client might be confirmed by a supreme court. The case is anticipated to be fascinated all the way up to the Supreme Court, expected to next year. The 5 Year-sentence, one of the biggest given to a business leader in South Korea, is a milestone for South Korea, where the chaebols or family-run companies have long been respected for assisting modify the once war-ravaged nation into a worldwide financial powerhouse.
