South Korean court unexpectedly lets Samsung vice-chairman walk free
Seoul — A South Korean high court unexpectedly let Samsung Electronics vice-chairman Jay Y Lee walk free after suspending his prison sentence for bribery, in a stunning reversal that raises questions about the government’s ability to reform powerful chaebol. The heir to the country’s largest conglomerate had appealed his sentence, which the court reduced by half to two and a half years on Monday. He will be on probation for four years, the court said. Lee stood up and looked around with a blank stare after the ruling, blushing as he walked out of court. He was detained for 353 days, according to South Korean news service Yonhap. "The government has been dilly-dallying over chaebol reform," said Jun Sung-in, a professor of economics at Hongik University. "It will face more pressure to step up. This has become another typical chaebol case." Lee, 49, was the highest-profile business figure to have been embroiled in a graft probe that brought down former Korean President Park Geun-hye a...
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