South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday asked for a nine-year jail term for the de facto chief of Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, during his retrial for bribery, where Lee apologized and pledged not to be involved in similar allegations in an apparent plea for leniency.
The case is a key element in an explosive scandal in 2016 that sparked months of public protests and toppled South Korea’s president. A ruling on Lee could send him back to prison on charges that he bribed former president Park Geun-hye and her confidant to gain government support for his attempt to strengthen his control over Samsung.
The new lawsuit comes as Lee is under tremendous pressure to navigate Samsung’s transition after his father and Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-Hee passed away in October.
A team of prosecutors headed by independent counsel Park Young-soo demanded Lee to be jailed by the Seoul Supreme Court. They said Samsung was “more actively seeking unfair benefits” than other companies in relation to the 2016 scandal. Prosecutors said Samsung, South Korea’s largest company, should “lead by example” in its efforts to eradicate corruption. to ban.
“Samsung is a business group of overwhelming power, and there is even a saying that South Korean companies are divided into Samsung and non-Samsung companies,” the prosecutors said in the closing remarks. “The rule of law and egalitarianism … are intended to punish those in power and those in economic power in accordance with the equal standard.”
Prosecutors also asked the court to sentence three former Samsung executives to seven years in prison and another former executive to five years.
Lee, 52, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2017 for offering 8.6 billion won ($ 7 million) in bribes to Park and her confidant Choi Soon-sil, whom she trusted for years. . But he was released in early 2018 after the Seoul Supreme Court shortened his term to 2½ years and suspended his sentence, reversed important convictions and reduced the amount of his bribes.
Last year, the Supreme Court returned the case to the Supreme Court, ruling that the amount of Lee’s bribes was undervalued. It said the money Samsung spent to buy three racehorses used by Choi’s equestrian daughter and to fund a winter sports foundation run by Choi’s niece should also be considered a bribe.
During Wednesday’s court hearing, Lee’s lawyers said the fundamental nature of the 2016 scandal was related to ex-President Park’s abuse of power that infringed upon the freedom and property rights of companies. The lawyers said Lee and the other ex-Samsung executives involved in the scandal were unable to withstand pressure from Park and Choi, and that she and Samsung were not receiving special favors from Park’s government.
Lee apologized for the case, saying that “everything is my fault” and that “I am deeply sorry and ashamed.” Lee said he will never engage in activities that could cause misunderstandings and pledged to focus on contributing to South Korean society.
Lee also reiterated his earlier pledge not to pass management rights on to his children and to stop repressing workers’ attempts to unionize.
According to reports in South Korean media, the Seoul Supreme Court is due to rule on January 18.
In September, prosecutors individually charged Lee on charges of stock market manipulation, breach of trust and control violations in connection with a 2015 merger between two Samsung affiliates that helped strengthen Lee’s control of the group’s crown jewel, Samsung Electronics.
Lee’s lawyers denied the charges, calling them “unilateral claims.” They say the 2015 merger was a “ normal business activity. ”