Korea's Supreme Court has ordered a retrial of the bribery charges against Samsung Electronics' vice chairman Lee Jae-Yong. It dismissed an appeals court ruling that gave Lee a suspended sentence and ordered the case to be heard again, reports the Korea Times.
Lee was in prison when the lower court imposed a five-year jail term for his involvement in the corruption scandal that unseated the former President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye. He was released in February 2018 after the appeals court reduced the jail term to two years and six months suspended for four years, reversing most criminal charges against Lee.
A lower court had found that Lee gave a total KRW 8.9 billion (USD 7.3 million) in bribes in order to indirectly influence Park to give special consideration for Lee's management succession at Samsung. The appeals court significantly reduced the amount of bribes Lee paid to KRW 3.6 billion, ruling some payments could not be considered bribes.
However, the Supreme Court has said the KRW 3.4 billion to purchase horses and the KRW 1.6 billion to sponsor a sports centre should all be considered bribes.
