I think this conviction means that former President Park will likely get convicted as well for corruption:
Lee Jae-yong
A Seoul court sentenced Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to five years in prison Friday, finding him guilty of bribery, embezzlement and other charges in a massive corruption scandal that led to the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye.
The Seoul Central District Court handed down the verdict, convicting Lee of involvement in Samsung’s provision of 7.2 billion won (US$6.38 million) in bribes for the equestrian training of the daughter of Park’s longtime friend and confidante Choi Soon-sil.
Prosecutors had demanded a 12-year jail term for Lee on charges of offering or pledging 43.3 billion won of bribes to win the government’s blessing for a merger of two Samsung units under terms designed to increase his control over the entire Samsung empire so as to cement a power transfer from his ailing father Lee Kun-hee.
“The crux of this case is close collusion between political and capital powers,” the court said in the verdict. “It appears to be difficult for the people to recover from disappointment in that collusive ties between the president and a large conglomerate existed not in the past, but in the present.” [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but the article says that former President Park made demands to Lee that Samsung give money to Choi Soon-sil so her daughter could receive equestrian training. Park is an idiot if that is in fact what happened.
Anyway it will be interesting to see how the appeals process works. I would not be surprised that after this blows over that the appeal quietly happens and Lee receives a suspended sentence and is out of jail.
I’m STILL not seeing where Park fits in this. Every time this comes up, it looks like Park’s friend Choi was the one making shady deals in the backrooms and keeping it all hidden from Park.
The old “I know important people” scam. Sure, she knows important people, but that doesn’t mean those important people are complicit in some petty scam to get a free pony for her daughter…
Show me where Park knew, or reasonably should have known, that Choi was making deals with other movers and shakers in her (Park’s) name.
Joseph Lee
7 years ago
I often read that most of the people at Samsung or elsewhere have never even heard of Choi.
You would need witness testimony to prove that a payment to an athletic program was effectively a bribe…. right?
It will be interesting to see how Park’s trial turns out. I just find it hard to believe that Park would shake this guy down in the Blue House herself by telling him to donate to her friends equestrian training in return for a government favor. It seems at a minimum that if she wanted to shake Lee down she would have one of her aides conduct the shakedown so she would have plausible deniability.
If she is that incompetent to where she couldn’t execute a proper shakedown than maybe it is a good thing for South Korea impeached her?
I’m STILL not seeing where Park fits in this. Every time this comes up, it looks like Park’s friend Choi was the one making shady deals in the backrooms and keeping it all hidden from Park.
The old “I know important people” scam. Sure, she knows important people, but that doesn’t mean those important people are complicit in some petty scam to get a free pony for her daughter…
Show me where Park knew, or reasonably should have known, that Choi was making deals with other movers and shakers in her (Park’s) name.
I often read that most of the people at Samsung or elsewhere have never even heard of Choi.
You would need witness testimony to prove that a payment to an athletic program was effectively a bribe…. right?
Communist show trial.
It will be interesting to see how Park’s trial turns out. I just find it hard to believe that Park would shake this guy down in the Blue House herself by telling him to donate to her friends equestrian training in return for a government favor. It seems at a minimum that if she wanted to shake Lee down she would have one of her aides conduct the shakedown so she would have plausible deniability.
If she is that incompetent to where she couldn’t execute a proper shakedown than maybe it is a good thing for South Korea impeached her?