Lee Jae-yong Sentenced to 2 Years and 6 Months in Prison in Retrial... Taken into Custody (Comprehensive)

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is attending the retrial sentencing hearing of the state affairs manipulation case held at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 18th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Cho, Gimin Lee] Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, who is accused of offering bribes related to the state affairs manipulation scandal, was sentenced to imprisonment in the retrial on remand on the 18th.

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Junyoung Jung) sentenced Vice Chairman Lee to 2 years and 6 months in prison on charges including bribery and ordered his immediate detention in court that afternoon. The court stated, "Considering that this trial is a retrial on remand, it is recognized that there are grounds and necessity for detention of the defendant who was sentenced to imprisonment."

Former Samsung Future Strategy Office Chief Choi Ji-sung (Vice Chairman) and former Samsung Future Strategy Office President Jang Choong-ki, who were also indicted together, were sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison and detained in court. Former Samsung Electronics President Park Sang-jin and former Executive Director Hwang Sung-soo were sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 4-year suspended sentence.

The court judged that the activities of the Samsung Compliance Committee did not reach a level to be considered as a mitigating factor for Vice Chairman Lee's sentencing. The court stated, "While the sincerity of the defendant and Samsung can be positively evaluated, it is difficult to say that the effectiveness criteria have been met." It further added, "It appears that the Compliance Committee cannot conduct proactive monitoring activities for potential future actions."

Earlier, at the first hearing of this case, the court ordered Vice Chairman Lee to establish a monitoring body for Samsung's compliance management. The court also expressed its intention to reflect whether the Compliance Committee is being operated substantively in Lee's sentencing. In response, Samsung established and has been operating the Compliance Committee since early last year, chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Kim Ji-hyung, but the court did not recognize its effectiveness and sustainability on this day.

Vice Chairman Lee was detained and indicted in February 2017 on charges of offering bribes to former President Park Geun-hye and Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil) along with requests to assist in the succession of Samsung Group's management rights. The first trial recognized 8.9 billion KRW as bribery, including 7.2 billion KRW for supporting equestrian training for Choi's daughter Jung Yoo-ra and 1.6 billion KRW for sponsoring the Korea Winter Sports Gifted Center, sentencing him to 5 years in prison. However, the second trial recognized only 3.6 billion KRW as bribery and sentenced him to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 4-year suspended sentence.

The Supreme Court Grand Bench overturned and remanded the case in August 2019, ruling that the 3.4 billion KRW for purchasing horses for Jung Yoo-ra, which the appellate court acquitted, and the 1.6 billion KRW sponsorship for the Winter Sports Gifted Center should be considered bribes. Since the amounts recognized as guilty differ among the first trial, second trial, and Supreme Court, the prosecution and Vice Chairman Lee's side have been engaged in legal disputes over sentencing in the retrial on remand.