South Korea pardons Samsung heir convicted of corruption

Published on : 08/13/2021 – 14:13

In South Korea, the heir and de facto boss of Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, will not complete his two and a half years in prison for corruption. The billionaire was released from prison on Friday August 13 in Seoul after being released on parole.

The vice-president of Samsung Electronics, 53, was sentenced in January to two and a half years in prison for corruption, in the resounding corruption scandal that led to the dismissal, then incarceration, of the former southern president. -Korean Park Geun-hye.

His parole was announced on Monday by the South Korean Minister of Justice who had cited “the national economic situation due to the prolonged coronavirus pandemic”.

Samsung in good economic health

Yet the incarceration of Lee Jae-yong did not harm the performance of the group which announced, at the end of July, a jump of more than 70% of its net profit in the second quarter due to the rise in chip prices linked to the very high demand in times of pandemic.

Officially, Lee Jae-yong – 202nd richest person in the world according to Forbes, with a fortune of $ 11.4 billion – is vice president of Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest maker of smartphones and memory chips. . But in fact, he is the one who has taken up the torch at the head of the conglomerate since his father, Lee Kun-hee, the architect of the group’s global take-off, had withdrawn due to health problems. The patriarch passed away in October.

Calls for his early release have multiplied in recent months, coming from both politicians and business leaders, worried about the consequences of the pandemic on the South Korean economy, the 12th largest in the world. This release was intended to allay concerns about the decision-making process within Samsung.

Samsung is by far the largest of the “chaebols”, the family industrial empires of the country. Its global turnover represents one fifth of South Korea’s GDP. The company is therefore crucial for the economic health of the country.

Presidential pardon for top South Korean business leaders

South Korea traditionally grants graces at this time of year, as it celebrates Independence Day on August 15. The Justice Department said this year 810 people will be granted parole.

The decision in favor of Mr. Lee was made “on the basis of various factors, including public sentiment and behavior in prison,” the justice minister said on Monday. According to South Korean media, Lee Jae-yong has been a “model prisoner,” and a rule change that came into effect in August reduces the length of time prisoners have to serve to qualify for parole.

On several occasions, major South Korean business leaders, convicted of corruption or tax evasion, have benefited from reduced sentences or presidential pardons, such as former Samsung boss Lee Kun-hee, convicted two times then pardoned in recognition of “his contribution to the national economy”.

With AFP