Samsung’s successor Lee Jae Yong has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison by a South Korean high court.
The bribery case is a retrial of an earlier one involving the country’s former President Park Geun-hye, who was also jailed for bribery and corruption.
Lee has been de-facto head of Samsung Electronics since 2014.
What This Means For Samsung?
This decision could have a major effect on the future of his role in the technology giant.
The sentencing news sent out Samsung electronics shares to tumble more than 4%.
Lee’s jail term will at least temporarily side-line him from decision making at the conglomerate.
Experts say the ruling could create a leadership vacancy and hamper Samsung’s decision-making on future investments.
“It’s really a huge blow and a big crisis for Samsung,” Kim Dae-jong, a business professor at Sejong University, told news agency AFP.
Lee led the company’s leadership when his father Lee Kun-hee was hospitalized following a 2014 heart attack.
Elder Lee died last year, leading to speculation that there would be a shake-up in Samsung as his heirs could be forced into asset sales or dividend payments to cover a massive inheritance tax bill.
Frequent Involvement In Crime
According to the court ruling, Lee “actively provided bribes and implicitly asked the president to use her power to help his smooth succession” at the head of Samsung.
“It is very unfortunate that Samsung, the country’s top company and proud global innovator, is repeatedly involved in crimes whenever there is a change in political power.”
The court found Lee guilty of bribery, embezzlement and concealment of $ 8.6 billion ($ 7.8m; £ 5.75m), and ruled that the Samsung law enforcement committee, which it formed earlier this year, would be fully operational.
Lee’s defense team expressed disappointment with the decision.
Lee has already spent time in custody pending sentencing – with 18 months left
