The Supreme Court of Korea can maintain the conviction and probation of Li Zaijun or ask the Seoul High Court to reconsider its judgment. Legal experts say this may lead to convictions being overturned or harsher judgments.
Editor’s note: This article is from Tencent Technology, compiled Ming Xuan.
According to foreign media reports, Samsung’s actual head, Lee Jae Yong, will usher in a “destiny trial” on Thursday, and the South Korean Supreme Court will finalize the “government scandal” case on Thursday. Live via TV, Facebook and YouTube. The scandal also led to the impeachment of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, and the fact that the Korean people are arbitrarily enjoying the government’s privilege and the government officials have received high bribes from the chaebol.
This ruling will also determine the extent to which 51-year-old Li Zaiyu can focus on driving Samsung Electronics to deal with the decline in profit margins and Japan’s export restrictions on important materials for the company. Li Zaijun, currently the vice president of Samsung Electronics, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2017 for bribing former President Park Geun-hye’s girlfriend Cui Shun. At that time, he was trying to inherit the position of his father, Li Jianxi, and to gain control of the Samsung Group.
Li Zaiyu was released after a year of detention, and the Seoul High Court halved his sentence and suspended for four years. In this regard, Li Zaijun and the prosecutor who denied the guilty immediately appealed. The Supreme Court of South Korea will also rule on the judgment of the Court of Appeal against Park Geun-hye and her friend Cui Shunshi. Park Geun-hye was impeached after the scandal and is currently serving 25 years in prison. Cui Shunshi was sentenced to 20 years in prison for accepting bribes and other crimes.
Li Zaiyu is the latest in a series of Korean chaebols who have been convicted of corruption but have received a lenient sentence, which has triggered public appeals for big business reforms. These companies are often criticized for being too close to political leaders.
The Supreme Court of Korea can maintain the conviction and probation of Li Zaijun or ask the Seoul High Court to reconsider its judgment. Legal experts say this may lead to convictions being overturned or harsher judgments. “Politically, since the current government is still trying to clear the corruption of the previous government, the Supreme Court is more likely to send the case back to the Court of Appeal, which may lead to a heavier judgment,” said Korean lawyer Choi Jin who did not involve the case. -nyoung said.
After Park Geun-hye was impeached and protested for several weeks, the former liberal human rights lawyer Wen Zai, who held the anti-corruption banner, was elected president of South Korea.
Case focus
The focus of this case is whether the three horses donated by the Samsung Group to train Cui’s daughter should be considered to win Park Geun’s good feelings.Bribe. Court documents show that Park Geun-hye asked Li to help her daughter and was found guilty on the grounds that the horses were bribes worth 3.7 billion won (about $3.05 million). However, these horses were not admitted in Li’s trial, which helped to ease his sentence.
“In view of the political and commercial impact of the case, Koreans are paying attention to the case. These three horses, and whether there are unfair treatments, will be the core of the court’s decision,” said South Korean lawyer Jun Ji-hyun.
This ruling will be made at a crucial moment for both Samsung and South Korea, as Japan decided to restrict the export of key chip manufacturing chemicals after a diplomatic dispute last month, which may disrupt South Korea’s largest Export project – the production of memory chips. Since then, Li Zaiyu has been carrying out high-profile tasks to solve the “crisis” he said to the deputies.
As the world’s largest manufacturer of memory chips and smartphones, Samsung Electronics is also caught in a dilemma of falling profits due to falling chip and display prices. In the second quarter ended June 30, the company’s net profit fell 56% year-on-year, and said Japan’s restrictions blur its prospects.
Why is Samsung being implicated?
At the end of 2016, after Park Geun-hye allowed Cui Shunshi to draft a speech, the prosecutor arrested Park Geun-hye’s girlfriend Cui Shun-shi on suspicion of exerting undue influence on state affairs.
Court documents show that Park Geun-hye pressured corporate groups, including the Samsung Group, to donate to the foundation supported by Cui Shunshi and asked Samsung to support Cui Shun’s daughter’s equestrian training.
Park Geun was impeached in March 2017 and became the country’s first elected leader. In the trial, she denied any misconduct.
Li Zaiyu was arrested one month before this and was accused of financial support for Cui Shunshi in exchange for presidential support. Samsung Group and Li Zaiyi denied any misconduct.
What decisions can the Supreme Court make?
Li Zaiyu was found guilty in August 2017 on charges including bribery and corruption and was sentenced to five years in prison. Five months later, the Court of Appeal halved his sentence and he was released.
Both Li and the prosecutor appealed to the Supreme Court, which may support the decision of the Court of Appeal or ask it to reconsider the judgment. Legal experts say the latter could lead to convictions being overturned or harsher.
As long as the sentence is more than three years, it means imprisonment immediately, because the current law in Korea requires that probation only allows imprisonment for up to three years.
What is the crux?
The core of the case is whether the three horses donated by the Samsung Group for the training of Cui Shunshi’s daughter should be regarded as a bribe aimed at winning Park Geun’s good feelings. Court documents show that Park Geun-hyeThe Samsung Group was asked to help Cui Shunshi’s daughter and was found guilty on the grounds that the horses were bribes worth 3.7 billion won (about $3.05 million). However, in Li’s trial, these horses were not recognized as bribes, which helped to ease his sentence. The court can also decide whether there is any exchange transaction between Park Geun-hye and Li Zai-yu. Affirmative rulings may increase the punishment for them. (Tencent Technology Compilation / Ming Xuan)