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Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong was ‘wrongfully’ released from prison, South Korean court rules
- The Supreme Court ordered the retrial of Lee, who was released last year after serving 353 days in jail in a high-profile corruption case that helped bring down former president Park Geun-hye
- The decision comes as Samsung battles headwinds caused by global trade disputes and sluggish demand
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South Korea’s highest court on Thursday rejected a lower court decision that released the heir to the country’s top business conglomerate from prison last year, a decision that could send him back to jail.
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The Supreme Court dismissed as “wrongful” an appeal court decision that gave vice-chairman Jay Y. Lee, otherwise known as Lee Jae-yong, of Samsung Electronics a suspended jail sentence and released him from prison.
“The court rejects the original verdict and returns the case to an appeal court [for a retrial]”, Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su said.
The decision comes as Samsung battles headwinds from the US-China trade war and Seoul’s ongoing trade dispute with Tokyo. Samsung is also facing falling profits from a memory chip downturn and sluggish smartphone demand.
Lee served 353 days behind bars before his release in February 2018 in a high-profile corruption case that involved disgraced former president Park Geun-hye, her controversial aide Choi Soo-sil and Lee. None of them appeared in court.
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