South Korean prosecutors on Monday have asked a court in Seoul to imprison Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-Yong for 12 years if he is convicted in a corruption scandal that led to the dismissal of the country’s former president Park Geun-Hye. The prosecutors said he was the ultimate beneficiary in the scandal, AFP reported.
“The defendants were closely tied to power and sought personal gains,” the prosecutors were quoted by AFP as saying. They sought terms ranging from seven years to ten years for the other accused. The court ruling is expected by August 27, Reuters reported, adding that Lee denied any wrongdoing.
Lee and four others were indicted in February on charges of perjury, corruption and bribery. Lee is also charged with embezzlement and hiding assets overseas. Lee had allegedly paid bribes worth 43 billion won (more than Rs 200 crore) to organisations with links to Former President Park Geun-Hye’s confidante Choi Soon-Sil. He had allegedly done it to ensure the merger of two company affiliates in 2015 as well as his control of the family business – he became the de facto head of the Samsung Group after his father was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014.
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