[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The final sentence of 2 years and 6 months imprisonment was confirmed for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was indicted on charges of bribery related to the state affairs manipulation scandal.
The special prosecution team led by Prosecutor Park Young-soo, which handled the investigation and prosecution of this case, announced on the 25th that regarding Vice Chairman Lee's retrial sentencing, "We have decided not to file a further appeal, judging that it follows the intent of the Supreme Court's full bench ruling." The special prosecution team added, "The 2 years and 6 months imprisonment sentence for Vice Chairman Lee is light considering the established facts and sentencing guidelines, but it does not constitute an illegal reason that can be grounds for appeal," and "We also judged that there are no other legitimate reasons for appeal."
Earlier on the same day, Lee's defense team also stated in the morning, "We humbly accept the court's ruling and have decided not to file a further appeal." With this decision from both sides made just before the midnight deadline for submitting the appeal, the guilty verdict against Vice Chairman Lee was finalized. It has been about 3 years and 11 months since Lee was indicted on charges including bribery and embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
Initially, the final conclusion regarding Vice Chairman Lee was expected to be delivered by the Supreme Court. Lee's side had expressed regret over the retrial ruling. They also showed dissatisfaction with the judgment on the effectiveness of Samsung Group's Compliance Committee, which was a key issue in the retrial. However, it was reported that Lee's defense team, after a meeting held until the morning of the same day, judged that the effectiveness of the Compliance Committee would be difficult to discuss in the further appeal trial. It is also known that the fact that criminal cases with sentences under 10 years cannot be appealed on the grounds of inappropriate sentencing under the Criminal Procedure Act influenced this decision.
Vice Chairman Lee was detained in Seoul Detention Center after being legally imprisoned following the retrial sentencing on the 18th. If he serves the sentence without parole or other reductions, he will be released at the end of July next year. Since Lee was detained during the prosecution's investigation in February 2017 and was released after receiving a suspended sentence in the appellate trial in February the following year, he has already served 353 days in detention, so the remaining sentence at this point is about one and a half years.
Previously, Vice Chairman Lee was arrested and indicted in February 2017 on charges of bribing former President Park Geun-hye and Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil) to assist with Samsung Group's succession of 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 Lee to 5 years imprisonment. The second trial recognized only 3.6 billion KRW as bribery and sentenced him to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment with 4 years probation. However, in August 2019, the Supreme Court's full bench overturned the appellate court ruling, stating that the 3.4 billion KRW for purchasing horses for Jung Yoo-ra, which was acquitted in the appellate trial, should be considered bribery.
The retrial reflected the full bench's intent. The retrial court recognized the horse purchase expenses as bribery and sentenced Vice Chairman Lee to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment. During the trial, the retrial court had stated it would consider the effectiveness of the Compliance Committee as a mitigating factor. However, on the day of sentencing, the court judged that Samsung's Compliance Committee activities "did not meet the effectiveness criteria," sentenced Lee to imprisonment, and ordered his legal detention.
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