SEOUL: A South Korean court sentenced Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y Lee (pictured) to two and a half years in prison on Monday, which could delay the group’s ownership restructuring following the death of Lee’s father in October.
The ruling also cements a major shift in South Korea’s view on wrongdoings committed by the owners of the country’s powerful conglomerates, or chaebol, which led the country’s economic rise after the Korean War on the back of what has been criticised as cosy relations with politicians.
Lee had served one year in prison for bribing an associate of former President Park Geun-hye when an appeals court suspended it in 2018; a year later, the Supreme Court ordered him retried.
His prison time will count against his latest sentence.
Monday’s sentencing by the Seoul High Court can be appealed to the Supreme Court within seven days. — Reuters
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