Special Prosecutor and Lee Jae-yong's Side Engage in Fiery Dispute Over Sentencing... Verdict Set for Next Month 21

Special Prosecutor "Active Bribery" vs Lee Jae-yong Side "Passive Support"
Expert Opinion Statement at Samsung Compliance Committee on 7th Next Month
Sentencing Expected as Early as Late January Next Year

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrived at the Seoul Central District Court Building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the Seoul High Court is located, at around 1:34 p.m. on the 30th to attend the 7th retrial hearing on charges of bribery related to the state affairs manipulation case.
Photo by Lee Ki-min victor.lee@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 30th, the special prosecution team led by Park Young-soo and the defense team of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong engaged in a fierce battle over sentencing during the retrial of bribery charges related to the state affairs manipulation case.

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Jung Joon-young) held the 7th retrial hearing on Lee's bribery charges from 2:05 PM to 5:23 PM that day.

During the hearing, the special prosecution team and Lee's defense team once again clashed over whether the bribes Lee provided to former President Park Geun-hye and Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil) were active crimes expecting returns or passive support under the demands of those in power.

The trial began with the prosecution's opening. The prosecution argued that Lee's sentencing should be increased based on the Supreme Court ruling on Lee, the appellate and Supreme Court rulings on former President Park Geun-hye and Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), and the indictment regarding Lee's illegal succession of management rights.

The prosecution stated, "The succession process is a restructuring of Samsung's governance aimed at securing the maximum effective voting rights in Samsung Electronics and Samsung Life Insurance, the core affiliates of the Samsung Group." It added, "This aims to quantitatively and qualitatively strengthen Lee's control at minimal cost." Furthermore, "In 2015-2016, then-President Park Geun-hye instructed An Jong-beom, then Blue House economic secretary, to devise countermeasures if overseas capital such as Elliott opposed the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, or to issue various favorable measures related to the bio-industry."

The prosecution pointed out that An Jong-beom, who mainly executed the president's orders in this case, was sentenced to four years in prison and argued that the sentence should be determined considering sentencing guidelines. The prosecution also cited the case of Park Chae-yoon, CEO of YJ Jacobs Medical, noting, "Even though the bribe amount was 1/140th, a prison sentence was finally confirmed, which should also be considered in sentencing this case." Park was sentenced to one year in prison for giving bribes worth about 59 million won to An and others to receive business favors.

Lee's defense team responded by citing the sentencing part of former President Park's retrial ruling, stating, "This case is passive support due to the president's abuse of authority," and "It was judged as a case where the president, entrusted by the people, seriously infringed on corporate management freedom by abusing his position and authority."

They added, "In bribery cases, the fact that the decision-making freedom of the giver was infringed upon by a public official is an important sentencing factor for the giver."

Regarding the case where Lotte Group gave bribes to former President Park and others, Lee's defense team pointed out, "In the appellate trial of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, it was judged that the president actively requested financial support first during a private meeting with the defendant, and the giver responded passively, so it is inappropriate to strictly hold the giver responsible for bribery."

They also emphasized, "The prosecution said in the previous trial that this bribery case occurred in an era where economic power is superior to political power, unlike the military dictatorship era, but it still happened in a social situation where power and authority are concentrated in the president," and "Look at the case where the Blue House pressured Vice Chairman Lee Mi-kyung, who refused the president's request, to step away from management."

Regarding the Park Chae-yoon case, they rebutted, "Park is the wife of Kim Young-jae, who was called an unofficial medical practitioner. Park sought benefits through the president and Choi Seo-won and made specific support requests while talking with former presidential secretary Jeong Ho-sung," adding, "Unlike Lee's case of implicit solicitation, there was explicit solicitation."

After concluding the hearing, the court announced that the sentencing hearing for Lee's retrial would be held on the 21st of next month. The court plans to conclude all statements regarding sentencing during the sentencing hearing and then listen to the final arguments and statements from both sides before closing the arguments.

Considering that it usually takes about a month from the conclusion of arguments to sentencing, the verdict is likely to be announced around January next year. However, due to many issues and extensive evidence, there is also a possibility that the sentencing date will be set for February next year.

Prior to this, the court will hear the opinions of expert advisors evaluating the effectiveness of Samsung's compliance monitoring system. The court announced at the hearing on the 23rd that it would receive reports from three expert advisors on the 3rd of next month and listen to their statements on the 7th, four days later.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.