Lee Jae-yong Retrial Sentencing Hearing on the 30th... Closing Arguments End After Over a Year

Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo Likely to Face Prison Sentence
Sentencing Trial Expected in January Next Year

Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The retrial of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong regarding the state affairs manipulation case will conclude its 1 year and 2 months of proceedings with the final hearing this week.

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Jung Jun-young) will hold the final hearing for Lee's retrial on the 30th. The special prosecution team led by Park Young-soo will present their sentencing recommendation, and Lee will deliver his final statement. Since the prosecution previously stated in a prior session that "even if the effectiveness of the Samsung Compliance Committee is recognized, a prison sentence of less than 5 years cannot be imposed," it is expected they will seek a prison term. Considering that it usually takes about a month from the final hearing to sentencing, Lee's fate is anticipated to be decided early next year.

Earlier, the prosecution and Lee's defense clashed over the impartiality of the expert panel formed by the court to assess the effectiveness of the Compliance Committee, each disputing the fairness of the members recommended by the other side. There were also sharp conflicts over the expert panel's opinion report. The court emphasized, "We will carefully consider the effectiveness and sustainability of the Compliance Committee, but this is not the sole or most important factor in sentencing."

Lee was prosecuted on charges of bribing former President Park Geun-hye and Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil) in exchange for assistance in the succession of group management rights. The first trial found some of Lee's charges guilty and sentenced him to 5 years in prison, while the appellate court acquitted a significant portion of the amount deemed guilty in the first trial and sentenced him to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 4-year probation. In August last year, the Supreme Court overturned the appellate court's ruling, stating that some amounts previously acquitted should be considered guilty, and remanded the case back to the Seoul High Court.

The retrial, which began with the first hearing in October last year, was temporarily suspended in January this year after the prosecution filed a motion to disqualify the presiding judges. The prosecution opposed the court's intention to reflect the Compliance Committee's effectiveness in Lee's sentencing, claiming the court was conducting the trial with preconceived notions. However, the Supreme Court dismissed the prosecution's disqualification motion in September, and the retrial resumed in October.

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