‘Trial of the century’ begins, with Samsung heir facing bribery and perjury accusations
Lee Jae-yong could face 20 years in prison for crimes he is accused of, but his lawyers insist he is an innocent bystander
Bound and handcuffed, the heir to the huge Samsung business empire appeared in court on Friday at the start of his trial for embezzlement and perjury, part of a corruption scandal that brought down South Korea’s president.
The third-generation leader of South Korea’s top conglomerate was mostly silent in court in what has been called the “trial of the century”, as his lawyers laboured to portray him as an innocent bystander in a graft scandal.
Lee Jae-yong, the 48-year-old boss of Samsung Group, could spend more than 20 years in jail if convicted on all charges, including one that he pledged 43 billion won (US$35.3 million) in bribes to foundations backed by impeached president Park Geun-hye and her confidant, Choi Soon-sil.
“The defendant ... didn’t even know that the contribution was made, because that’s not part of his job,” his lawyer, Song Wu-cheol, told the court.
Lee had merely relayed the comments from one-on-one meetings with Park to his top lieutenant, Choi Gee-sung, he added.
Choi, a former Samsung Group vice-chairman considered a mentor to Lee, left the conglomerate on March 1 after it dismantled its corporate strategy office – a nerve centre long considered an instrument for the founding Lee family’s management of the companies.
Clad in a white shirt and grey suit, Lee, himself the vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, was mostly expressionless. He nodded when one of his attorneys reiterated his previous denials of having paid bribes.
Beyond confirming personal details such as his name, date of birth and job, Lee was silent when the judge asked if he had anything to say in response to the charges he faces.
Lee’s lawyers said the Samsung boss made financial payments in response to requests by Park, the president at the time, and sought no favours in return.
“In the course of providing bribes, Lee Jae-yong embezzled company money, illegally diverted domestic assets abroad, hid illegally-earned incomes and committed perjury at parliament,” special prosecutor Park Young-soo said. “The Choi case has left a deep scar in history but it has also provided momentum to re-establish the rule of laws by dint of people’s power.”
The leader of the smartphones-to-biopharmaceuticals business empire is the only founding family member among the country’s most powerful conglomerates, called chaebol, to be indicted in a graft scandal that led to Park becoming South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be removed from office.
Lee’s arrest, the first for a Samsung chief even though his father was twice convicted of bribery, sent shock waves through the company and triggered the announcement of a major reform of its top-down management style.
Lee has effectively been at the helm of Samsung since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014.
As the trial kicked off, Samsung Electronics announced it expects profits to jump by half in the first quarter, despite a smartphone recall fiasco and Lee’s arrest.
Park herself was arrested a week earlier on charges such as colluding with Choi to pressure businesses such as Samsung to contribute to foundations that backed her administration’s policy initiatives.
But the special prosecution says Samsung’s Lee actively curried Park’s favour to cement his control of the family business empire.
“We have secured enough evidence proving that defendant Lee Jae-yong made improper requests to the president,” said the special prosecutor.
Lee sought Park’s help in maximising his control of the Samsung companies at the lowest possible cost, he added.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
