South Korea pardoned Samsung’s heir and leader to help “overcome the economic crisis”

After being convicted of corruption and embezzlement in January 2021, the heir and de facto leader of the Samsung group, Lee Jae-yong, received presidential pardon on Friday.

Lee will be “reinstated” in the company to give him the opportunity to “help overcome the economic crisis in South KoreaThis was stated by the Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon.

The billionaire has thus become the latest example of South Korea’s long and controversial tradition of freeing corporate leaders convicted of financially motivated corruption.

Lee, ranked 278th on the list of the richest people in the world, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $ 7.9 billion, paroled in August 2021after serving 18 months in prison, just over half of his original sentence.

The pardon announced on Friday will allow him to fully return to work by lifting a five-year work restriction imposed after his release from prison.

“Due to the world economic crisis, the dynamism and vitality of the national economy have deteriorated and there is a fear of a prolongation of the economic recession“, reads a statement from the Ministry of Justice.

Lee’s forgiveness and that of other similarly pardoned executives seek that “driving the engine of continuous growth of the country through active investments in technology and job creation, “he added.

The 54-year-old tycoon was pardoned along with three other businessmen, including group chairman Lotte Shin Dong-bin, who was sentenced to two and a half years’ suspended prison sentence in 2018 in one case. of corruption.

In total, the ministry announced 1,693 graces on the Monday anniversary of the Liberation Day, which recalls the surrender of Japan in 1945 which ended decades of colonial power in Korea.

The pardon was also foreseen for former president Lee Myung-bak (2008-2013), jailed for corruption, but the minister of justice said politicians were excluded because the economy is “the most urgent and important”.

In a statement, the Samsung leader said he wanted to “contribute to the economy through continued investment and job creation for young people.”

Lee Jae-yong is Vice President of Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker and of which invoicing is equivalent to one fifth of gross domestic product from South Korea.

He was jailed for crimes related to a massive corruption scandal that brought down former President Park Geun-hye.

A controversial tradition in South Korea

South Korea has a long history of high-profile tycoons accused of corruption, embezzlement, tax evasion and other crimes, although many end in forgivenesssuspended or reduced sentences.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said he hopes “this special forgiveness will serve as an opportunity for all South Koreans to work together to overcome the economic crisis.”

But analysts like Vladimir Tikhonov, a professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, say this allows employers to feel that “they are not restricted by any law“.

Lee has yet another pending lawsuit for alleged accounting fraud during the merger of two companies in the conglomerate in 2015.

These legal woes and Lee’s imprisonment have not slowed the performance of Samsung, which announced a 70% increase in profits in the second quarter thanks to the chip market, fueled by the pandemic and the boom in remote work.

“Samsung has worked perfectly without any respite,” said Tikhonov. “Forgiveness undermines the rule of law which, potentially, is more harmful than beneficial to operations in any market economy. “

Source: AFP