Samsung boss jailed for bribes and theft

A SOUTH KOREAN court has sentenced the billionaire head of Samsung to five years in prison for crimes that helped topple the country’s president.

The verdict is a stunning downfall for Lee Jae-yong, 49, and it could freeze decision-making at the global electronics company, which is run like a monarchy.

The Seoul Central District Court said yesterday that Lee was guilty of offering bribes to Park Geun-hye when she was South Korea’s president, and to a close friend of Park, to get government support for efforts to cement his control over the Samsung empire. The revelations that led to Lee’s arrest in February fed the public outrage which contributed to Park’s removal.

A panel of three judges also found Lee guilty of embezzling Samsung funds, hiding assets overseas, concealing profit from criminal acts and perjury. Prosecutors had sought a 12-year prison term.

The court said Lee, and Samsung executives who advised him, caused “a big negative effect” to South Korean society and its economy.

“The essence of the case is unethical collusion between political power and capital,” the court said in a statement. It led the public to fundamentally question the public nature of the president’s work and to have “mistrust in the morality of the Samsung group,” it said.

Analysts said the verdict will not immediately affect Samsung’s operations, which are overseen by three chief executives. But long-term decisions, such as finding future growth areas, may have to be put on hold.