Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong released after appeals trial

A South Korean appeals court handed down a suspended sentence to Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and ordered his released from prison on Monday, Yonhap has reported.

The court said

Samsung did not make any explicit or implicit request to ousted president Park Geun-hye for Lee’s succession, however the heir to the South Korean tech behemoth was found guilty of bribing the daughter of Park’s longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil by sponsoring her equestrian career.

Lee Jae-yong, serving as de facto head of the tech giant Samsung Group, was found guilty on counts including bribery, embezzlement and concealment of illegal proceeds by a lower court last August and sentenced to five years in prison.

However, both Lee and the prosecution appealed the ruling, the former insisting that he is not guilty while the latter holding that the five-year sentence is lenient.

Lee is believed to have given 8.8 billion won (about 8.2 million US dollars) to former South Korean president Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil in a scandal that led to Park's removal from office last year.

In addition to that, a special counsel accused him of offering or promising 43.3 billion won (about 39.7 million US dollars) to Park and Choi.

Four former Samsung executives who received jail or suspended jail terms in August heard their verdicts alongside Lee.

(CGTN)