Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Lee has been granted parole from prison, the justice ministry announced. He will be released later this week, but may not be able to resume management functions at Samsung, Yonhap news agency reports.
Lee has been serving time since he was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison by the Seoul High Court in January, in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye. He was convicted of bribing Park and her longtime friend to win government support for the management transition at Samsung, which would see Lee take over from his father.
Justice Minister Park Beom-kye announced that Lee will be among 810 inmates to be released in celebration of the 15 August Liberation Day. The South Korean government uses the national holiday to grant paroles or special presidential pardons for national unity.
Lee will not be able to immediately return to Samsung, the report said. The Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes bans those convicted of embezzlement or breach of trust involving amounts over KRW 500 million (USD 436,300) from working for companies related to their crimes, or any institution that receives government subsidies. The ban lasts five years from the day an offender completes his or her jail term.
Samsung Group and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) had demanded that Lee be released on parole or granted a presidential pardon to help him focus on managing the country's biggest conglomerate.
