Samsung heir’s prison sentence casts a shadow on South Korea’s tech titan

The man who calls the shots at Samsung was just sent to prison for the second time in less than five years. Even if the South Korean tech giant can keep its day-to-day business humming in his absence, the verdict is still likely to cast a long shadow.

The Seoul High Court sentenced vice chairman Lee Jae-yong, also known as Jay Y. Lee, to 2 1/2 years behind bars on Monday after finding him guilty of embezzlement and bribery. Lee’s lawyer has called the decision “regrettable,” but it’s not yet clear whether he intends to appeal. The legal team representing Lee did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Lee’s prison sentence means the company is losing a key decision-maker at a time of strategic upheaval in some of Samsung’s core industries. China and the United States are caught in a cold war over companies such as Huawei and SMIC, there’s a global shortage of semiconductors and carmakers and tech firms are getting together to shape the future of the auto industry.

The scandal also marks the latest twist in a long line of legal troubles for Lee, who was found guilty of bribery and other corruption charges in 2017 as part of a massive influence-peddling scandal that brought down the government of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Lee walked free after less than a year when an appeals court threw out some of the charges and suspended his sentence. But the country’s Supreme Court later ordered a retrial, leading to Monday’s verdict.

Source: cnn.com

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