Prosecutors in South Korea have demanded that Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman, Lee Jae-Yong, be jailed for 12-years on accounts that he played a role in a bribery scandal involving Park Geun-Hye, the former president of South Korea along side four other Samsung executives whom a sentence of 10-years each has been charged.
The heir apparent to the Samsung Group and only son of Samsung’s chairman was imprisoned early this year and has since maintained his innocence.
Lee was accused of offering millions of dollars in exchange for gaining support from a national pension fund in the 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates. The arrangement was crucial for allowing Samsung chairman, Lee Kun-hee to inherit overall management control of the Samsung Group.
The 12-year jail sentence he faces is said to be over half the 20-year maximum sentence he was initially reported as facing. If he is indicted and given a 12-year sentence, he will be 61 years old when he gets out of prison.
The Vice-Chairman was arrested and charged with bribery, embezzlement, hiding assets overseas, and perjury by South Korean prosecutors in February following what was reported to be a 15-hour questioning session with investigators.
Lee may now face a 12-year sentence from the 20-years sentence first hinted after his arrest in February. A court ruling is expected August 25.
