SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong was freed Monday after a South Korean appeals court gave him a 2 1/2-year suspended jail sentence for corruption in connection with a scandal that toppled the country’s president. The appeals court said Lee was unable to reject the then-president’s request to financially support her confidante and was coerced into making the payments. Lee’s lawyer, Lee Injae, told reporters that the Samsung vice chairman still plans to appeal his conviction. The appeals court rejected the lower court’s view that corporate succession was one of the issues at stake. Before the final hearing at the appeals court Lee paid back 8 billion won ($7.3 million) to Samsung Electronics.

Source: National Post February 05, 2018 06:32 UTC