Samsung Vice-Chairman Jay Y. Lee Gets 2 1/2 Years In Prison For Embezzlement And Bribery

Lee Jae-Yong, the current vice-chairman of South Korean tech giant Samsung is going back to jail, which raises the question of who will lead the company after he is gone.

On Monday, Lee was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison by the Seoul High Court for bribery and embezzlement. After the verdict, Samsung’s vice chairman was taken into custody.

The sentence is the latest twist of a case that has been meddling with Samsung for many years. Jay Y. Lee, an alias of Lee Jae-Yong, was found to be involved in a huge influence-peddling scandal that has resulted in around 20 years in prison for South Korea’s former president Park Geun-Hye.

In 2017, Lee was found guilty of corruption charges and received a 5-year sentence. However, he got out after one year after an appeals court suspended the punishment. The 2 ½ year sentence is the direct result of the Supreme Court’s retrial.

Lee coming back to prison is bad timing for Samsung. His father Lee Kun-hee – the legendary leader of the tech giant, passed away last year and since then, Jay Y. Lee has been considered the de facto choice for Samsung’s leadership position.

Here is what Injae Lee – the leader of the defense team of the company’s vice chairman said after the verdict:

Lee Jae-Yong can appeal to the verdict but it’s unclear if he will do so.

However, this verdict isn’t the end of Lee’s troubles with the law. He will have to face another trial for the 2015’s controversial merger that allows him to exercise greater control over Samsung. He is among the 11 executives of the company to be involved.

This particular case is still pending.

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