Exec set to fight bribery charges
Company’s complex web of ties probed
The trial of Samsung Electronics Co. vice chairman Jay Y. Lee begins Thursday, as prosecutors try to prove the billionaire conspired to funnel millions of dollars to a confidante of South Korean President Park Geunhye to help secure control of the world’s largest smartphone maker.
Lee is the highest-profile business figure indicted in a sprawling corruption investigation that’s also led to Park’s impeachment and spurred outrage over “chronic corruption” in ties between government and family-run conglomerates. Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo has called the legal contest surrounding Lee South Korea’s “trial of the century,” given his global profile and the amounts of money involved.
Hearings at Seoul’s Central District Court are set to last up to three months, during which Lee will fight charges from bribery to embezzlement. The biggest point of contention will be whether Samsung’s donations to entities led by Park’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, were intended to win government backing for a controversial 2015 merger that made it easier for Lee to direct the family-controlled Samsung Group.
The 48-year-old executive has denied wrongdoing.
“Proving there was an exchange of money for favours is going to be challenging,” said Hong Jungseok, a lawyer who worked for the special prosecution until the end of last month. “The trial will draw attention from around the world, not just for the defendant’s fame abroad, but also for the size of the alleged bribe.”
In trying to prove their case, prosecutors will probe the complex web of ties through which the chaebol that control Korea’s economy allegedly trade money for political favours. Park’s investigation has led to about 30 indictments and ensnared establishment figures from the president of a prestigious university to the head of the country’s horseback-riding association, who’ve been accused of easing Choi’s daughter’s college admission and equestrian lessons.
Lee now faces five years to life in prison if convicted. Under South Korea’s threetier judiciary system, Lee can turn to an appellate court and then the Supreme Court if he loses, with each court taking up to two months to deliberate. His own father avoided jail time despite two previous criminal convictions, thanks to government pardons.
Lee’s predicament casts uncertainty over the succession at Samsung, which has been in transition since his father suffered a crippling heart attack in 2014. The prolonged absence of its de-facto head may delay major decisions at Samsung Electronics, which is set to unveil the latest version of its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, this month.