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| ▲ Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrives at the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul on Feb. 3, 2025, to attend the sentencing hearing for a case on the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates. (Yonhap) |
Samsung chairman-ruling
Appeals court upholds acquittal of Samsung Chairman Lee in 2015 merger case
SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- An appellate court on Monday upheld the acquittal of Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong in accounting fraud and other irregularities related to the controversial merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015.
The Seoul High Court confirmed the not-guilty verdict for Lee, who was indicted on charges of involvement in stock price manipulation, accounting fraud and other irregularities during the merger of Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T Corp., which prosecutors suspect was aimed at taking control of South Korea's biggest conglomerate at a lower cost.
The merger was seen as crucial to Lee's succession as heir of the family-controlled group, as his father, Lee Kun-hee, had suffered a heart attack the previous year.
A lower court acquitted the younger Lee of all 19 charges last February, saying it found no illegalities in the succession process.
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