The court said Lee, the grandson of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul, is believed to be involved in bribes of 7.2 billion South Korean won (about $8.1 million) that were handed out in an effort to gain government support for the merger of two Samsung subsidiaries.
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Supporters of the ousted president staged a rally outside the court on Friday to demand Lee’s release, facing off against another group of protesters who instead demanded punishment for the Samsung boss.
The 49-year-old has denied all wrongdoing, and his lawyer has said that they will appeal against the decision.
Lee Jae-yong, the billionaire scion of South Korea’s most powerful business dynasty, is set to discover his fate Friday. Two other former executives received suspended jail terms.
“The essence of the case is collusive ties between political power and capital power”, Judge Kim Jin-dong said, according to The Korea Herald.
There is also potential for a destabilizing family feud over inheritance when the elder Lee dies.
A guilty verdict would represent a remarkable fall from grace for Lee, who is estimated to be worth $7.9bn, making him the third wealthiest person in South Korea. Through hundreds of hours of testimony from dozens of witnesses, prosecutors sought to draw a link between backing from a state-run pension for a 2015 merger of Samsung affiliates and money paid to a confidante of then President Park Geun-hye, including an $800,000 horse for the friend’s daughter.
Three of the other charges were linked to the bribery count.
Park’s own trial began in the same room in May, and it also saw Lee’s father Lee Kun-Hee convicted of tax and other offences in 2008, receiving a suspended sentence.
The verdict also dealt a blow to Samsung’s publicly stated position that recent business dealings or restructuring efforts have nothing to do with the succession of corporate leadership to Lee from his father.
“We don’t plan shifts in investment on this”, said the fund manager, who is not authorised to speak to the media, so asked not to be identified. Even if this does happen, it would take at least a few more months for a pardon to be cleared by the courts.
Friday’s ruling was closely connected to the trial of Park and Choi, accused as the receivers of the bribes.
Under South Korean law, sentences of more than three years can not be suspended. The NPS was the largest shareholder in Samsung C&T with 11.21% stake. The appeals court and the Supreme Court might put a greater emphasis on prosecutors to provide direct proof of quid pro quo, the lawyers said. They were arrested in court.
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Mr Lee, who was detained since February for corruption charges denied all charges and faced a jail sentence of up to 12 years.
