Samsung Billionaire Gets Off Easy (gizmodo.com)

Lee Jae-yong, the Samsung chief found guilty of bribery and embezzlement, was freed from prison after an appeals court reduced and suspended his five-year prison sentence. Gizmodo reports: Lee had pleaded not guilty to all charges and spent nearly a year in jail, CNN reported, before the appeals court reduced his sentence to two and a half years and suspended it for four. The court reportedly found him guilty of one bribery charge, but not of hiding money offshore. It also overturned another bribery charge. It's important to understand that Samsung has a tight grip on the country's economy. Known as a "chaebol," or a (usually family-owned) business conglomerate, Samsung contributes to a little over one-fifth of the country's exports. Its businesses make up about 15 percent of the country's total economy. It is extremely rare for leaders of the country's chaebols to be justly punished for their crimes -- most convicted are ultimately pardoned or granted a commutation. Lee's father, Lee Kun-hee, has been pardoned twice for similar charges.

Comments

Like father, like son

[Anonymous Coward]

Lee's father, Lee Kun-hee, has been pardoned twice for similar charges.

Re:rule of law in ROK, how does that work?

[MoaDweeb]

According to the World Justice Project South Korea has about a equal a 'rule of law' as the USA.
US 18th, South Korea 19th.
UK 10th, France 21st for some context.

Filthy Scandi countries in their normal single digit positions :-)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...