Samsung Heir Jay Y Lee's trial in a bribery scandal begins in S Korea

The trial of a bribery case which included heir of South Korea technology giant Samsung Group reportedly began on October 22, after the Supreme Court of South Korea said the case should be reviewed by a lower court hinting at a tougher sentence. The trial has come in the wake of South Korea's President Moon Jae-in seeking help from business leaders to revive the troubled South Korean economy.

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Case History

In August this year, the Supreme Court of South Korea had reportedly overturned part of an appeal from a court's conviction in a bribery case against Samsung's de facto chief Jay Y. Lee who was given two and a half year suspended sentence for seeking favours from South Korea’s former President Park Geun-Hye. The top court of the country had said the interpretation of Seoul High Court was too narrow as to what constituted bribes. 

A lawyer who is not involved in the case said that the Seoul High Court is unlikely to make a decision this year since prosecutors and Lee's lawyers are fighting tough in this round. 

Lee who is 51 is scheduled to attend the hearing on October 25, which is required by law for defendants in criminal cases as per legal experts. The case against Lee revolves around whether three horses which were donated by Samsun Group be considered as bribes aimed at winning Park's favour in Samsung's succession planning. The horses reportedly were presented to the daughter of Park's aide, Choi Seo-won who is a professional horse rider.

The Supreme Court said the appeals court committed an error by not recognising the fact that horses were given as bribes by Samsung to win favours which raised rumours that Lee can go to jail again. Lee who is the chairman of Samsung Electronics has already served one year in prison but later walked free after the appeals court reduced the five-year jail sentence and suspended it to three years. 

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Samsung declines to comment

However, unofficially there has been a response from an employee of Samsung who reportedly has stated Samsung hopes to see the end of this uncertainty as soon as possible. The trial has come in the wake of South Korea's President Moon Jae-in seeking help from business leaders to revive the troubled economy whose data recently revealed that the South Korean economy has slowed more than expected in the third quarter.

Moon thanked Lee for Samsung's commitment at an event earlier this month unveiling an $11 billion investment in display technologies.

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