Samsung Boss To Regain Freedom After 18 Months In Jail

Samsung vice-chairman, Lee Jae-yong, has been granted parole and would be released from jail on Friday after serving 18 months out of a 30-month sentence for bribing former South Korean President, Park Geun-hye.

The billionaire business magnate was involved in a corruption scandal which ended the government of former President Park and saw her receiving a 20-year prison sentence and an 18 billion fine in 2016.

According to the Guardian, Lee had attempted to persuade the President to ease his succession as Head of the Samsung empire from his father, Lee Kun-hee, who was hospitalized and later died of a heart attack in 2014.

It was ruled by the court that he, “actively provided bribes and implicitly asked the president to use her power to help his smooth succession”.

Before serving the 18 months, he had initially served one of a five- year sentence from August 2017, which was eventually suspended. That court decision was then overturned and while the sentence was shortened, he was sent back to jail in January this year.

Lee is among 810 other prisoners who were granted parole on the occasion of South Korea’s Liberation Day, which celebrates the liberation of the country from Japanese imperial rule in 1945.

“The decision to grant [the] Samsung Electronics vice-chairman … parole was the result of a comprehensive review of various factors such as public sentiment and good behaviour during detention”, the ministry said in a statement.

The 53-year-old still needs the Minister of Justice to approve this return to work due to the law which prevents people with certain convictions from working for companies related to those convictions for five years.