Samsung Chairman Found Not Guilty All Charges Related to 2015 Merger

It looks like there will not be any more jail time for Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong:

A Seoul court acquitted Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Monday in connection with the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates allegedly conducted to help him take over control of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate.

The Seoul Central District Court delivered the not-guilty sentence for Lee, three years and five months after he was indicted on charges of involvement in market irregularities in the merger of Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T Corp. to solidify his managerial control of the group at a lower cost.

Lee was charged with stock price rigging, breach of trust and accounting fraud in the course of the controversial 2015 merger, where three Samsung C&T shares were offered for one Cheil share. 

The merger was seen as crucial to Lee’s succession as the heir of the family-controlled group, as his father, Lee Kun-hee, had suffered a heart attack the previous year.

Yonhap

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