A South Korean court today acquitted Samsung Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong of stock manipulation and accounting fraud committed in 2015. Apart from Lee, 14 other defendants were also found not guilty.
Lee is accused of using the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries to strengthen his family's stake in Samsung. The prosecutor requested that Lee be jailed for five years if found guilty. With him now freed, the risk of him being jailed again for the offense of bribing President Park Geun-hye will not occur.
After serving 18 of the 30 months in prison, he received a pardon from President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2022 for the need to restabilize the Korean economy affected by the pandemic.
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BUSINESS & MONEY