SOUTH KOREA HOLDS FINAL HEARING ON SAMSUNG EXEC’S GRAFT TRIAL

The final hearing of a trial that will decide whether Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee returns to jail for alleged bribery began in a Seoul court, Joyce Lee reported for Reuters.

The heir of one of South Korea’s most powerful families was convicted of bribing an associate of former President Park Geun-hye and jailed for five years in 2017.

That sentence was reduced and suspended on appeal and he only served a year in jail before being freed in 2018.

A subsequent Supreme Court ruling sent the matter back to the Seoul High Court, which must now decide on a new sentence.

A decision is not expected until early next year.

While not the only legal challenge Lee is dealing with - he is also on trial for alleged fraud and stock price manipulation - the bribery case is the biggest immediate threat to his leadership of Samsung Electronics.

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