South Korean prosecutors are calling for a five-year prison sentence for Lee Jae-young, the leader of Samsung, over financial misconduct and stock price manipulation related to the merger of Samsung’s subsidiary companies in 2015.
According to Reuters, a group of South Korean prosecutors is demanding a five-year prison term for Lee Jae-young, the president and leader of Samsung. They allege that Jae-young’s five-year imprisonment is related to charges of financial fraud and manipulation of stock prices for the merger of Samsung subsidiary companies in 2015.
Jae-young, the leader of Samsung, has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the prosecutors’ claims as inaccurate. The prosecutors’ statements were made during the latest court hearing, and the announcement of the verdict is expected in the coming months. The case against the Samsung executive has been ongoing for three years.
The recent case under discussion is the latest headline-grabbing complaint against Lee Jae-young. He had previously served prison time for another case but was ultimately granted a pardon by the South Korean government. After his release, Jae-young returned to Samsung and resumed leadership of the company.
Prosecutors stated today in the Central District Court in Seoul that the 55-year-old leader of Samsung, along with some former executives of the company, violated South Korea’s capital market laws to merge certain Samsung subsidiary companies. As a result of these actions, Jae-young’s control over Samsung Electronics, the main business unit of Samsung, increased.
According to investigators in the case, Lee Jae-young manipulated stocks to facilitate the merger of Samsung’s subsidiary companies, causing financial losses to small investors. Despite denying the prosecutors’ allegations, Samsung’s leader claims that the process of merging the companies was conducted legally.
The court had previously announced that the Samsung leader had provided bribes to the former President of South Korea between 2017 and 2021, resulting in a total of 18 months of bribery. This serious offense eventually led to Jae-young’s imprisonment. He was conditionally released in 2021 and received a pardon in 2022.
