South Korean judges suspend jail sentence of Samsung heir
Samsung Group heir Jay Y Lee left a South Korean jail a free man on Monday after a panel of judges suspended his sentence, a decision that shocked the political and business establishments.
Coming just days before South Koreans gather to host the Winter Olympics, the surprise ruling reignited an intense public debate over widespread corruption in a case that ousted president Park Geun-hye from office in 2017 and has ensnared leading members of the familyrun “chaebol” conglomerates.
The High Court in Seoul sentenced Lee to two-and-a-half years in jail on charges including bribery and embezzlement, reducing the original term by half, but suspended the sentence for four years, meaning that he is unlikely to serve any more time in jail.
Lee, 49, heir to one of the world’s biggest corporate empires, had been detained since February 2017.
Emerging from a Seoul detention centre where he had returned for his belongings after the ruling, Lee stood in the frigid February air and apologised for “not showing my best side. The past year has been a really valuable time of looking back on myself,” Lee said.
He said he needed to visit his ailing father, Samsung Group patriarch Lee Kun-hee, who suffered a heart attack in 2014.
The elder Lee escaped a conviction for embezzlement and tax evasion when he was pardoned by former president Lee Myung-bak.
Coming days ahead of the Olympics in Pyeongchang, the decision to free the younger Lee presents a new headache for President Moon Jae-in, who was elected in 2017 on an anticorruption platform in the wake of Park’s impeachment. “This may be a brave decision by the court to look at solid evidence rather than public opinion. But this doesn’t quite fit public opinion calling for Lee’s punishment,” said Kim Kyung-soo, a former prosecutor and a criminal lawyer.
Park was dismissed in March after being impeached in a case that brought scrutiny to the cosy ties between South Korea’s political leaders and its largest chaebol, the so-called “Republic of Samsung”.
Park, who denies wrongdoing, is standing trial accused of bribery, abuse of power and coercion. Receiving bribes can carry a sentence of life in jail.
One of the judges who suspended Lee’s sentence said Park had pressured the corporate leader to sponsor equestrian sports, which could have a bearing on Park’s verdict, legal experts said.
Partially agreeing with a lower court’s ruling in August 2017, the high court convicted Lee of bribing Park by supporting the equestrian career of the daughter of a friend of hers. He was also convicted of embezzlement. But the appeals court said Lee did not seek any help from Park. It also said 3.6-billion won (R39.87m) was paid as a bribe, not 7.2-billion won as the lower court had said.
Presiding senior judge Cheong Hyung-sik also called the nature of Lee’s involvement in Samsung’s support for Park’s friend “passive compliance to political power”.
“Park threatened Samsung Electronics executives,” the judge said. “The defendant provided a bribe, knowing that it was bribery to support [the friend’s daughter], but was unable to refuse.”
Prosecutors did not have an immediate comment. Lee’s lawyer, Lee In-jae, said the defence would appeal to the supreme court to try to overturn the convictions.
With the end of Lee’s yearlong detention, he can return to his multiple corporate roles, including as director of flagship Samsung Electronics.
Investors say Lee will face the daunting task of trying to find the right direction for growth, although Samsung Electronics performed well with Lee behind bars.
THIS MAY BE A BRAVE DECISION BY THE COURT BUT DOESN’T … FIT PUBLIC OPINION CALLING FOR LEE’S PUNISHMENT