South Korea appeals court upholds Samsung chief’s fraud acquittal

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong gets out of a car upon his arrival at the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Seoul, South Korea — Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong was cleared again Monday of a raft of charges linked to a controversial 2015 merger which prosecutors claimed was designed to seal his control of the South Korean tech giant.

Lee was orginally cleared of the charges in a trial last year, but prosecutors appealed against the verdict.

“The evidence presented was not sufficient to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” court documents seen by AFP said.

Lee was cleared of charges including stock price rigging, breach of trust, and accounting fraud.

READ: Jail sought for Samsung boss over fraud, stock manipulation

They relate to the 2015 merger between Samsung C&T — a construction and engineering firm — and Cheil Industries.

Lee did not answer any questions as he left the Seoul court, but his lawyers told reporters they “sincerely thank the court for its wise judgement”.

“It has been a very long time since the investigation and trial process of this case began,” his legal team said.

“We hope that with this ruling, the defendants can now return to their rightful duties and responsibilities.”

Lee was jailed for 18 months in a separate fraud and embezzlement case following a sweeping investigation that also brought down former president Park Geun-hye in 2017.

The current executive chairman of Samsung Electronics — the crown jewel of South Korea’s sprawling Samsung group — was released on parole in August 2021 having served half his sentence.

He returned to management shortly afterwards, and was officially named executive chairman in October 2022 — two months after South Korea’s then president pardoned him for the convictions.