Samsung has been in the headlines for its recently launching the Galaxy S21 Series. The tech giant has now been struck by the news that their Leader Lee Jae-Yong has been added a 2.5-year jail sentence.
The bribery case was a retrial of a ruling in 2017. Lee was convicted of bribing an associate to the company’s former President Park Geun-Hye to win government support for a 2015 merger between two Samsung associates.
The Samsung heir denied all charges. Consequently, the sentence was reduced and suspended on appeal. He was later released after serving a year.
The Supreme Court then sent the case back to the Seoul High Court and found Lee guilty of graft worth $7.8 million (Ksh.858 million).
This court ruling could create a leadership vacuum and hamper decision making in large scale investments. The company could lose its competitive edge as news of the sentence lowered Samsung shares by 4%.
Lee’s Lawyer termed the court decision as regrettable since the essence of the case is that, the abuse of power of a former president inhibited the freedom and property rights of a private company. The year Lee served in detention is taken into consideration and leaves 18 months to be served.
The sentence can get appealed within seven days. Although, experts say that because the Supreme court has already ruled once, the probability of changing legal interpretation is lower.
Next: Samsung’s Galaxy Note’s future up for debate after the Galaxy S21 Ultra launch
Alfred Gitonga is a passionate tech news writer with a deep interest in smartphones and related technologies. He is a staff writer at Mobitrends.co.ke.
