


While Samsung’s daily business is run by an army of managers, Lee’s absence may stall or complicate larger investments or strategic longer-term moves. He had just been elected to the board at Samsung. An attorney for Lee called the decision “regrettable.” Samsung Electronics declined to comment on the outcome.Īny void in leadership presents risks for the world’s largest producer of memory chips, smartphones and consumer appliances as it deals with the Covid-19 pandemic, tumultuous U.S.-China relations and intensifying competition in mobile devices and semiconductors. Reuters A court ruled Lee should spend the next five years in prison A year ago, simply finding a photograph of Lee Jae-yong was tricky. Shares of Samsung Electronics fell 3.4% after the sentencing. “Since Lee already spent one year in prison, there will be one and a half years of a leadership vacuum.” “This is shocking news for Samsung, but Samsung should wrap up this legal wrangling and move forward,” said Chae Yi-bai, a former South Korean lawmaker who has worked at a non-profit shareholder activist organization. Lee still faces a second prosecution related to succession. The Supreme Court upheld a 20-year prison term for Park last week, citing wide-ranging charges including bribery related to Samsung. Lee, convicted of bribery and embezzlement, walked out of prison on parole on Friday, with South Koreas president calling. In the dispute, Lee, 52, was accused of offering horses and other payments to a friend of the former president to win support for his formal succession at the corporation. UIWANG, South Korea (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Monday’s sentencing, the result of that retrial, sends the top decision maker at the country’s most valuable company back to jail at a time of rising competition and global uncertainty. SEOUL Samsung Electronics announced Thursday that it had named Lee Jae-yong as executive chairman, officially elevating the heir and longtime de facto leader of the South Korean. The Supreme Court overturned that verdict and ordered a retrial in 2019. The Samsung Group’s de facto leader served a year in prison, but was released in February 2018 after his original five-year term was cut in half and suspended. Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong will be released from prison on Friday after he was granted parole by the local justice ministry. The Seoul High Court first jailed Lee in 2017 after convicting the billionaire for his role in a corruption scandal that toppled former South Korean president Park Geun-hye. Lee was sentenced to 30 months in prison over bribery charges, a dramatic setback for the world’s biggest electronics company as it tries to move beyond a years-long scandal that inflamed outrage over the cozy relationships between government and business. Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong, who was put in jail after being found guilty of bribery, has been granted parole and will be released from jail on Friday.
