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In
2024, the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Lee of charges
like stock price manipulation and accounting fraud by ruling
that prosecutors failed to sufficiently prove the merger was
unlawfully conducted with an aim to strengthen Lee’s control
over Samsung.
The Seoul High Court upheld the district court's ruling in
February, and the Supreme Court dismissed prosecutors' appeal of
the high court's decision Thursday. Its ruling is final and
cannot be appealed.
Samsung’s lawyers said in a statement that they “sincerely
thank” the Supreme Court for “wisely" ruling on the case. They
said the ruling confirmed the 2015 merger was legitimate.
Lee, a third-generation corporate heir who was officially
appointed chairman of Samsung Electronics in 2022, has led the
Samsung group of companies since 2014, when his late father, Lee
Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack. The senior Lee died in 2020.
Lee Jae-yong served 18 months in prison after being convicted in
2017 on separate bribery charges related to the 2015 merger.
He was originally sentenced to five years in prison for offering
bribes to then-President Park Geun-hye and her close confidante
to win government support for the merger, which was key to
strengthening his control over the Samsung business empire and
solidifying the father-to-son leadership succession.
Lee was paroled in 2021 and pardoned by then-President Yoon Suk
Yeol in 2022.
Some shareholders opposed the 2015 merger, saying it unfairly
benefited the Lee family while hurting minority shareholders.
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