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Prosecutors in South Korea have demanded nine years in prison against Samsung Cheif Lee Jae-yong.
He is accused of bribery. He is said to have given horses as a gift to gain support from former President Park Geun-hye’s government for a merger of two Samsung subsidiaries.
The billionaire was previously in prison for about a year for this matter. The case was suspended in 2018, but the Supreme Court has previously withdrawn that suspension. The sentence was announced on Wednesday during a hearing at the Seoul Supreme Court. The verdict is expected to take months to come.
Lee Jae-yong (52) formally holds the position of Vice Chairman at Samsung. His father Lee Kun-hee was the actual chairman until his death. He was previously in prison for corruption. Son Lee Jae-yong has been trying to secure his “succession” with Samsung for over a decade.
Lee Jae-yong is also suspected of accounting fraud and breaking the rules surrounding a 2015 merger. One of the companies would have deliberately lowered the company’s value so that Lee could benefit from it.
The planned merger gave Lee more control over the Samsung group and over the crown jewel Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s largest company.
