Lee Jae-yong, lawyer, vice chairman and heir of Samsung, was found guilty of bribery and embezzlement and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Court’s decision is the end of a long and quite famous trial during which Jae-yong was accused of illegally giving 40 million dollars belonging to Samsung to two foundations set up by Park Geun-hye, confidant of the president of South Korea. The purpose of the bribe was, reportedly, to gain approval from the government for a merger between two Samsung affiliates back in 2015 – despite the majority of shareholders being against the merger.
Lee Jae-yong will, naturally, appeal against the court’s ruling. If the appeal fails, he will face five years in prison, and Samsung’s credibility will suffer yet another blow.