JAKARTA - A South Korean (South Korean) court will sentence de facto leader of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Jay Y. Lee on charges of bribery. This ruling is likely to have consequences for Lee's leadership as well as South Korea's view of big business.
Citing Reuters, Monday, January 18, if Lee is jailed, he will be excluded from major decisions at Samsung Electronics and will be diverted from the inheritance process from his father who died in October 2020. But if Lee is free, he can devote himself to both.
Not without risks. If Lee is not jailed, he will face a strong backlash from the wider public who see that the South Korean legal process lifts the sentence for chaebols or big family-owned business conglomerates.
Chaebol is privileged because it is considered to help lift the country out of poverty after the Korean War. But now much criticism is being thrown at the chaebols using too much force through complicated internal cross-ownership.
Lee, 52, was previously convicted of bribing former President Park Geun-hye and given a five-year prison sentence in 2017. He denies wrongdoing, has his sentence reduced and suspended on appeal, then released after being jailed for a year.
The Supreme Court then sends the case back to the Seoul High Court which will decide the sentence. The penalties will be announced today, Monday 18 January.
Under South Korean law, prison sentences of three years or less are suspended. For a longer sentence, the person must serve a period of time unless pardoned by the president. Prosecutors have called for Lee's prison term of nine years.
If imprisoned, Lee's time that has served his detention will be counted as a sentence, because the case is the same. The convictions delivered today can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
"In cases sent back by the Supreme Court, there are narrower options for the bench ... But it is also true that the Supreme Court can't really touch on the final court decision, whatever it is," said Rha Seung-chul, a lawyer. that is not related to the case.
Previously, the Supreme Court sentenced former South Korean President, Park Geun-hye, to a prison sentence of 20 years. He was found guilty of bribery and other corruption charges. Park Geun-hye underwent a scandalous period in his leadership, including impeachment.
The court found Park Geun-hye guilty of colluding with his close friend Choi Soon-sil to pressure electronics giant conglomerates, such as Samsung and retail chain Lotte, to give millions of dollars to the foundation run by Choi Soon-sil.
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