Billionaire Samsung heir gets prison for bribery, placing future leadership of tech giant in question

Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong, a billionaire dubbed the “Crown Prince of Samsung,” is going back to prison in South Korea for his role in a 2016 corruption scandal that brought down a president.

The Seoul High Court sentenced Lee to 2½ years behind bars Monday after finding him guilty of bribing former South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her close friend to win government support for a 2015 merger that helped him consolidate power at the electronics giant.

Lee, the grandson of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul and eldest child of late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, was taken into custody following the verdict.

He became the company’s de facto leader after his father died in October at 78.

His defense tried — but failed — to portray the 2015 deal with Park as “normal business activity.”

“[The] essence of the case is that a former president abused power to infringe upon the freedom and property rights of a private company,” defense lawyer Injae Lee said without confirming whether his client will appeal.

Lee Jae-yong, 52, essentially helms Samsung Group in his capacity as vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, one of the biggest makers of computer components and smartphones in the world.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Lee’s incarceration would significantly damage the company that’s coming off a strong year.

He has been spearheading the company’s management since 2014, when his father suffered a heart attack.

Lee was previously sentenced to five years in prison in 2017 for offering Park and her confidant Choi Soon-sil some $7 million in bribes.

He was released early in early 2018 after the Seoul High Court reduced his term and suspended that sentence before the retrial.

His father was convicted twice on criminal corruption and tax evasion charges, once in 1996 and again in 2008, but was later pardoned.