Heir convicted of corruption and de facto Samsung group boss Lee Jae Yong has been pardoned. South Korean Justice Minister Han Dong Hoon announced a presidential pardon for the 54-year-old on Friday. The move should allow Lee to do his part in “overcoming the economic crisis” in the country.
Lee was released on parole last August after serving 18 months in prison. However, he was still subject to a five-year work restriction.
This is being lifted by grace so that Lee can fully resume his managerial duties at the world’s leading manufacturer of smartphones and memory chips.
Lee would start “growth machine” again
“Due to the global economic crisis, the dynamism and strength of the national economy has deteriorated and it is feared that the economic crisis will last longer,” the Justice Department said. The pardon would see Lee and other executives similarly pardoned “return to lead the growth engine through active investment in technology and job creation.”
Lee is officially the vice president of Samsung, but is considered the main decision maker of the electronics giant. He was convicted in the course of a massive corruption scandal that also led to the fall of President Park Geun-hye in 2017.
Lee has been jailed multiple times in connection with the bribery and embezzlement scandal. He was last convicted in January 2021. Numerous politicians and entrepreneurs had spoken out in favor of his early release.
Samsung is South Korea’s largest conglomerate
Samsung is by far the largest of the family-owned companies in South Korea. Annual company turnover is equivalent to one-fifth of South Korea’s gross domestic product and is crucial to the Asian country’s economic success.
Lee has been at the helm of the electronics company for several years after his father Lee Kun-hee suffered a heart attack and was unable to continue the business. The business magazine “Forbes” estimates his wealth at the equivalent of about 7.8 billion euros.
Source: Krone
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