Under public pressure and concerned about economic interests, the South Korean government has granted parole to Samsung Electronics’ vice president Lee Jae-yong. The heir to the founding family of the first South Korean conglomerate, will be released from prison on Friday August 13 after serving 18 of the 30 months in prison to which he was sentenced for corruption and embezzlement.
This gesture announced Monday August 9 is part of the traditional “graces” granted by the government on the occasion of the celebrations of the liberation of the country, August 15, 1945. “Lee Jae-yong was added to the list due to the state of the national and global economy during the time of Covid-19. We also took into account the feeling of the population and the attitude of Mr. Lee in prison ”the justice ministry said in a statement.
At the heart of the scandal
Lee Jae-yong was convicted of embezzling 8.7 billion won (€ 6.4 million) of Samsung funds for the benefit of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye (2013-2016). This corruption case, at the heart of the scandal that led to the dismissal in 2016 of Ms. Park, was to facilitate the process of succession in favor of Mr. Lee at the head of Samsung. His release had agitated South Korean society for several weeks. Two thirds of people interviewed in July by the YTN news channel were in favor, as were the press, mostly close to the conservative opposition and the business community.
Even the ruling Democratic Party was divided. Its president, Song Young-gil, supported it so that “Korea maintains its global competitiveness in the semiconductor industry”, a sector currently facing a major shortage. Conversely, Park Yong-jin, candidate for the 2022 presidential election, saw this release as a “Affront to the rule of law”, showing that “The rich and the powerful always have a favorable outcome”. More than 1,000 civic groups staged rallies outside the justice ministry to voice their opposition.
In the absence of Lee Jae-yong, several decisions of Samsung Electronics, including the construction of a semiconductor plant in the United States, could not be made
Finally accepted, this release delighted the business community. “We welcome this decision taken at a time when the speed of the decision-making process is important”reacted Woo Tae-hee, vice president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who regretted that Mr. Lee was not fully forgiven.
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