"Make Lee Jae-yong a Free Man" Appears in Blue House National Petition

"Serving prison time through investigation and trial... How could a businessman refuse a request from power"
"Samsung contributes to raising South Korea's national prestige"
Opposition posts against Vice Chairman Lee's arrest also appear in Blue House National Communication Plaza discussion room
Vice Chairman Lee's retrial verdict on the Park Geun-hye corruption case scheduled for the 18th of this month

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is entering the Seoul High Court in Seocho-dong on the 9th, where the retrial of the 'state corruption' case is being held. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] As the final verdict in the retrial of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on charges of bribery related to the state affairs manipulation scandal is expected to be delivered later this month, a public petition has been raised asking for his release so that he can focus on management.

According to the Blue House's public petition platform on the 3rd, a post titled "Please set Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong free so he can fully concentrate on management" was uploaded on the 1st. The petitioner introduced themselves as a member of the public and an educator. They wrote, "Although I have no direct connection with Samsung, I was involuntarily moved to tears watching Lee Jae-yong appeal to patriotism and filial piety in court."

The petitioner stated, "Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong has undergone investigations, trials, and even served prison time over the past few years," adding, "He has suffered greatly both mentally and physically due to investigations, trials, and imprisonment during these difficult times, and he has sufficiently reflected and apologized."

They continued, "How could a businessperson refuse a request from the living power?" and emphasized, "Any businessperson in that situation would not have been able to reject the power's request, so there are many understandable, regrettable, and pitiful aspects."

Furthermore, they explained, "(Samsung) has greatly contributed to raising the national prestige of the Republic of Korea," and added, "The national pride I feel when traveling abroad nowadays is incomparable to the past, and Samsung's brand value has contributed significantly to this."

Regarding Vice Chairman Lee and Chairman Lee Kun-hee, the petitioner stressed, "They have grown Samsung beyond Korea's No.1 in electronics to the world's No.1 company, playing a major role in supporting the Republic of Korea." They also highlighted, "Samsung contributes a large portion of taxes and provides many quality jobs for us."

In addition, the petitioner mentioned Samsung's contribution during the early spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) last year, saying, "Samsung played a significant role in quickly importing mask raw materials when they were scarce at the beginning of the pandemic and transferred know-how to mask manufacturers so they could rapidly produce large quantities." They appealed, "Now, please release Chairman Lee Jae-yong and set him free so he can do his best on the front lines of management. I ask the President to show leniency."

The petition had garnered over 18,000 supporters by the morning of the same day and is currently under review by the public petition board administrators. Posts with more than 100 preliminary endorsements are reviewed by administrators to decide whether to keep them publicly accessible.

Additionally, on the Blue House website's public communication forum, a post titled "We oppose the detention of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who saved the national economy!" was uploaded the previous day. As of 6 p.m. that day, the post had received over 2,900 recommendations.

Vice Chairman Lee was indicted in February 2017 on charges of bribing former President Park Geun-hye and was sentenced to five years in prison in the first trial. In February 2018, the second trial sentenced him to two years and six months in prison with a four-year probation, and he was released after serving 353 days at Seoul Detention Center. The Supreme Court's full bench remanded the case, and the verdict is scheduled for the 18th of this month.

At the sentencing hearing on December 30 last year, during the retrial, the special prosecution requested a nine-year prison sentence. In his final statement, Vice Chairman Lee pledged, "I want to create a new Samsung befitting our national prestige and show filial piety to my deeply respected father," and promised, "I will establish a thorough compliance system that can reject unjust external pressures."

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