South Korean president Lee Jae-yong, successor toSamsung, accused of bribing the president as part of a massive corruption scandal that overthrew the government. will be pardoned with one year left on his sentence. The Minister of Justice announced on Friday.
Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin of his group and two of his other top his business his leaders were to be pardoned as well, with convicted business tycoons and serious The history of South Korea's leniency against white his collar crimes is magnified. They are among the approximately 1,700 who will be pardoned on Monday, a national holiday that President Yoon Suk-yeol celebrates the liberation of South Korea from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II. 7}
Lee's pardon underscores Samsung's enormous influence over countries dependent on technology exports. was convicted of handing over Both were sentenced to lengthy prison sentences and were to gain government support for the merger of his two Samsung affiliates in 2015. corporate empire.
Lotte's Shin said in 2018 that then-president Moon Jae-in pardoned Park for similar charges in December, giving him a suspended prison sentence. sentenced. In addition, Dongguk Steel Chairman Jang Se-joo and former STX Group Chairman Kang Duk-soo will be pardoned.
Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said the amnesty for business tycoons was aimed at "overcoming the economic crisis by encouraging business activity." Yoon previously told reporters his pardon could help create a "peace of mind" in his troubled family life.
Lee, 54, , runs the Samsung Group as Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer memory chips and smartphones. He had one year left on his 30-month sentence when he was paroled by the Moon administration last August.
Lee faces a separate trial on charges of stock price manipulation and audit violations related to the 2015 merger.
Polls show that South Koreans, years after the angry protests that overthrew Park in 2017, largely support pardoning Lee, with Samsung reflects its influence in countries that offer smartphones, televisions and credit cards. The apartments people use and live in, and the hospitals where they are born and die.
Business His leaders and politicians have also called for Lee's pardon, and full restoration of his right to run a business empire will allow Samsung to become bolder and faster in its business decisions. He said he would be able to act. South Korean law prohibits people convicted of serious financial crimes from returning to work for five years after completing their sentences.
Critics say Lee was in constant control of Samsung even when he was in prison, and has almost fully resumed his administrative duties after his parole. Former Minister of Justice Park Bum-gye, who served under the Moon administration, said his activities did not violate the five-year ban because the billionaire heiress has not received wages. defended Lee's involvement in the management of from samsung.
Park Geun-hye was convicted of a wide range of corruption crimes, including conspiring with her longtime best friend Choi Soon-sil to bribe and extort millions of dollars from Samsung and other major corporations. received. at the company.
She faces more than 20 years in prison until President Moon pardoned her in December, citing the need to promote unity in a politically divided country. Was.
Chan said she was released on parole in 2018 and has about three and a half years left in prison for embezzling millions of dollars in corporate funds, some of which she used to gamble in Las Vegas. It was 6 months.
Last year, South Korea's Supreme Court ruled that Kang, who led his STX from 2003 until 2014, was given a suspended sentence on charges of embezzlement of corporate funds and other crimes. sentenced to imprisonment.
