- Title: File of Samsung heir ahead of retrial in bribery scandal
- Date: 24th October 2019
- Summary: Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee testified at a parliament hearing on whether then President Park Geun-hye and her friend Choi Soon-sil pressured them to give money to non-profit foundations for preferential treatment. Lee said Samsung Group did not give financial support to foundations in order to get something in return. SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FILE - DECEMBER 6, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF SAMSUNG GROUP HEIR APPARENT AND VICE CHAIRMAN OF SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, LEE JAE-YONG ALSO KNOWN AS JAY Y. LEE, ARRIVING AT SOUTH KOREAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY NATIONAL ASSEMBLY'S SPECIAL COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION SESSION IN PROGRESS CHAIRMAN OF CJ GROUP, SOHN KYUNG-SHIK (FAR LEFT, PARTLY OBSCURED), CHAIRMAN OF LG GROUP, KOO BON-MOO (SECOND FROM LEFT), CHAIRMAN OF HANHWA, KIM SEUNG-YEON (THIRD FROM LEFT), CHAIRMAN OF SK GROUP, CHEY TAE-WON (FOURTH FROM LEFT), JAY Y. LEE (THIRD FROM RIGHT), CHAIRMAN OF LOTTE GROUP, SHIN DONG-BIN (SECOND FROM RIGHT), CHAIRMAN OF HANJIN GROUP, CHO YANG-HO (FIRST FROM RIGHT), SITTING LEE SITTING AT HEARING LEE, SAYING (Korean): "I admit that the deal was done in an inappropriate way and regret that I didn't look into it more thoroughly." INVESTIGATION SESSION IN PROGRESS Investigators in November 2016 raided the offices of Samsung Group, South Korea's largest family-run conglomerate, as part of a widening probe into the scandal. The business was suspected of providing money to two foundations controlled by Choi to win government favours in relation to duty-free licenses, the South's Yonhap News Agency reported. SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FILE - NOVEMBER 8, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS BUILDING (NIGHT SHOT) SAMSUNG FLAG FLYING (NIGHT SHOT) SOUTH KOREAN PROSECUTION INVESTIGATORS CARRYING BLUE BOXES AND WALKING OUT BLUE BOX WITH LETTER READING (Korean and English): "PROSECUTION SERVICE" PROSECUTION INVESTIGATORS CARRYING BOXES AND GETTING ON BUS WHILE SURROUNDED BY MEDIA
- Embargoed: 7th November 2019 03:31
- Keywords: file president Samsung court bribery trial political scandal Jay Y. Lee Park Geun-hye
- Location: SEOUL, INCHEON, UIWANG, SOUTH KOREA / HAGEN, GERMANY
- City: SEOUL, INCHEON, UIWANG, SOUTH KOREA / HAGEN, GERMANY
- Country: South Korea
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2HIA13
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Seoul High Court is planning to hold Samsung's de facto chief Jay Y. Lee's retrial on the influence-peddling scandal on Friday (October 25) as South Korea's Supreme Court overturned part of an appeals court bribery conviction against Lee in late August.
The Supreme Court said the interpretation by the Seoul High Court on what constituted bribes by Samsung to then-President Park Geun-hye was too narrow and returned the case to the appellate court.
Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, was sentenced in 2017 to five years imprisonment for bribing a friend of Park as he sought to succeed his father and strengthen control of Samsung Group. He was freed after a year in detention when the appellate Seoul High Court halved his sentence and suspended it for four years.
After the Supreme Court's ruling, Lee's lawyer denied Samsung received any favors from Park and said any payment made by Samsung was in response to a demand from the now-deposed leader, an argument it had made in lower court trials.
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