The prison sentence could severely complicate his succession at the consumer electronics giant. Lee Jae-yong's conviction originally dates back to 2015 and pertains to a bribe to an associate of the former president. (PIC-UNI)
Billionaire Samsung Electronics vice president Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for bribery and embezzlement on Monday at the Seoul High Court.
His conviction is connected to the corruption scandal that brought down former President Park Guen-hye.
Lee "actively provided bribes and implicitly asked the president to use her power to help his smooth succession" at Samsung, the Seoul court said in its verdict.
Criminal proceeds worth millions
Monday's verdict was the culmination of a retrial in a long-running legal battle for Lee.
Lee was sentenced in 2017 for offering millions of dollars in bribes to Park and her
longtime friend Choi Soon-sil.
His initial conviction of 5 years was later reduced and suspended at appeal after he denied wrongdoing, and he was released after serving a year.
Park and Choi are serving prison terms of 22 years and 18 years, respectively.
South Korea's Supreme Court then sent the case back to Seoul High Court, which issued Monday's ruling.
The city's highest court found Lee guilty of bribery, embezzlement and concealment of criminal proceeds worth about 8.6 billion won ($7.8 million, €6.5 million), and said the independent compliance committee Samsung set up in 2020 must still become fully effective.
Lee's lawyer, Lee In-jae, told reporters that the case "is the is the former president's abuse of power violating corporate freedom and property rights," adding: "Given that nature, the court's decision is regrettable."
The year Lee already served in detention is expected to count toward the sentence, leaving 18 months of his sentence to be served.
Monday's sentencing can be appealed to the Supreme Court within seven days, according to the judge.
The reimposed custodial sentence could hamper the succession process at Samsung, after Lee's father Lee Kun-hee died in October. It may also deny the consumer electronics giant its most influential manager during the transition period, with Lee unable to take part in major decision making at Samsung Electronics for the time being.(Reuters, AP, dpa)