Samsung scion Lee fights
back tears as prosecutors seek 12 years' jail
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[August 07, 2017]
By Joyce Lee and Christine Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Vice
Chairman Jay Y. Lee fought back tears and denied wrongdoing on Monday as
prosecutors sought a 12-year jail term on charges that include bribing
the former president to help cement control of the South Korean tech
giant.
Lee, the de facto leader of one of Asia's largest conglomerates, has
been in detention since February on trial for charges ranging from
embezzlement to perjury, in a scandal that gripped the country for
months and led to the ouster of former president Park Geun-hye.
He will face the longest prison term on record for a South Korean
conglomerate executive if the court finds him guilty when it makes a
ruling Aug. 25, two days before Lee's current period of detention ends.
Other charges he faces include wrongfully transferring assets overseas
and hiding the proceeds of a crime.
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"I have never asked anyone, including the president, for anything for
the company or my personal gain," said Lee in a final statement, his
voice wavering. He stopped several times during his speech, holding back
tears.
"I deeply regret that I have given such disappointment and apologize,"
he said.
Samsung Electronics offered no comment regarding the prosecutors'
demand. The company's shares ended down 0.3 percent on Monday, erasing
minimal gains seen early in the session.
The prosecution has said Samsung's intent in paying up for two funds
backed by Park, and sponsoring the equestrian career of the daughter of
a confidante at the center of the scandal, was to get government support
for efforts to cement Lee's control of the smartphones-to-biopharmaceuticals
empire.
"Even though Lee is the ultimate receiver of the gains (from this
bribery case), he has been pushing the blame on others accused,"
prosecutor Park Young-soo told the court.
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![](../images/080717pics/busine23.jpg)
South Korean ousted leader Park Geun-hye arrives at a court in
Seoul, South Korea, August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
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Park also sought jail terms for other Samsung executives related to the case,
including 10 years for Choi Gee-sung, former head of Samsung's corporate
strategy office.
The defense reiterated Lee's denial of wrongdoing, questioning whether the
prosecution was relying on public sentiment to secure a prison term for Lee, 49,
whose father, the group patriarch Lee Kun-hee, was hospitalized in 2014.
He has not been seen in public since.
Jay Y. Lee's lawyers argued that his so-called overarching intention of
cementing ownership control was "a fictional construct" made up by prosecutors,
with moves such as the merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015 aimed merely at
ensuring survival and growth of individual companies.
In Lee's absence, Samsung Electronics reported record quarterly earnings in late
July.
Samsung Electronics investors have said their chief interest in the trial has
been how long Lee will stay in detention, sidelined from fully participating in
large-scale decision-making.
"It (Samsung Electronics) is doing well now, but will his absence show up in its
performance two, three, five years from now? That's the question," said Park
Jung-hoon, fund manager at HDC Asset Management.
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(Reporting by Joyce Lee, Christine Kim; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Nick
Macfie)
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