What you should know
– South Korean prosecutors are seeking a five-year jail term for Samsung Electronics boss Jay Y. Lee over charges of accounting fraud and stock price manipulation
– The trial has lasted three years and the ruling is expected within months
– Prosecutors allege that Lee and other former executives violated the Capital Markets Act to make possible a 2015 merger that helped Lee assume greater control of Samsung Electronics
– Jay Y. Lee was earlier convicted of bribing former South Korean President Park Geun-hye and went to jail for a total of 18 months in the period from 2017 to 2021
Full Story
Samsung Electronics chairman Jay Y. Lee faces a new legal battle. South Korean prosecutors are seeking a five-year jail term for Lee over charges of accounting fraud and stock price manipulation. This trial has lasted three years and the final lower court session has concluded. A ruling is expected within months. The prosecution alleged the executives’ wrongdoings included stock price manipulation that helped them gain at the expense of minority investors. Lee and the executives have denied these allegations, claiming that the merger and accounting processes were part of normal management activities. Jay Y. Lee was earlier convicted of bribing former South Korean President Park Geun-hye and served time in jail from 2017 to 2021. He was paroled in 2021 and pardoned in 2022.
