Lee Jae Young will be released on August 13
The South Korean Ministry of Justice said it would release Li Jae Young, vice president and de facto head of Samsung Electronics Corp., later this week. In January 2021, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of bribery of former South Korean President Park Geun-hyo.
Justice Minister Park Bom Ke announced that Lee Jae Young will be released from prison on Friday, August 13, the day before South Korea's National Liberation Day, which is celebrated on August 15.
The decision came after a multi-hour meeting of the ministry's parole committee to discuss the fate of those prisoners, including the vice president of Samsung Electronics, who fulfilled the requirements to qualify for parole after serving 60 percent of their prison sentence.
“Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics Lee Jae Young is among those who received parole given the economic situation in the country due to the protracted coronavirus pandemic,” the Minister of Justice told reporters.
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The Samsung Group and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry demanded that Lee Jae Young be released on parole or pardoned by the president so that he can resume running the country's largest conglomerate.
While the day-to-day operations of the world's largest chip and smartphone maker were not directly affected by Lee Jae Young's absence, company sources say that he alone can and should make decisions on major investment projects and mergers.
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In particular, the decision on where exactly the US chip factory – a $ 17 billion facility – will be built has been postponed for months, pending the return of Lee Jae Young.
The decision to release Lee Jae Young's early release has sparked controversy in the community. Representatives of 1,056 trade unions, human rights groups and civic organizations said his parole would be contrary to the anti-corruption policies of Moon Jae-in's government and symbolize a move away from the so-called “candle revolution” that led to the 2017 change of government.
52-year-old businessman will be released early, including because his skills are needed by the South Korean economy hit by the pandemic
They also argue that Lee Jae Young's parole could affect the ongoing litigation over the controversial merger of the two Samsung subsidiaries.
At the same time, a public opinion poll conducted in July 2021 showed that the vast majority – more than 70 percent of 1,003 respondents – are in favor of the parole of the imprisoned de facto leader of the Samsung Group.
