Samsung heir Lee freed from South Korean jail; the judgment attracts wide public criticism

NewsBharati    05-Feb-2018
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Seoul, February 5: After one year of detention, Samsung group heir Lee Jae-yong has been set free by a South Korean appeal court in an unexpected manner. A jail sentence was handed down to the tycoon in last year for bribing the country's then-President Park Guen-hye with $8.2m. This corruption shook the country followed with stepping down of the former president.

The tycoon along with briber charge in return for the strengthening of Samsung was found guilty of also found guilty of embezzlement, hiding assets overseas, concealing profit from criminal acts and perjury. The South Korean court suspended his five-year jail term for bribing the country's ex-president.

After being freed he is now trying to mend his reputation. “The past one year has been the most precious time for self-reflection," he told. "I will look at all things more carefully from now on."

"We will carry out our social responsibility as a global corporation that can allow us to recover public confidence," a Samsung official said.

But the common public does not seem very happy with the judgment. Some people are terming South Korea as “Samsung Republic”. “We have a new president in office, but the ‘Republic of Samsung’ lives on,” said Kwon Young-june, a professor. Citizens from different classes regretted the judgment.

Here's some tweets which show the public uproar:
 
Samsung group South Korea Economic Corruption Lee Jae-yong