Samsung’s former chairman receives a pardon

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak pardoned former Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, who had been convicted of embezzlement and tax evasion,

the

New York Times

reported.

Opponents of the action “said it was another example of leniency for South Korean tycoons guilty of serious crimes,” the article said.

The South Korean president said he pardoned Lee so that the former Samsung leader could remain a member of the International Olympic Committee and continue aiding the effort to have the city of PyeongChang named as host of the 2018 Winter Olympics, according to the report. The South Korean Supreme Court had given him a suspended three-year prison sentence. Lee resigned as Samsung chairman in April 2008.

The court case stemmed from allegations from civic groups and Samsung’s former chief legal counsel that Mr. Lee had managed a vast sum of illegal funds and helped his son, Lee Jae-yong, an executive at Samsung Electronics, buy shares of subsidiaries at unfairly low prices in a scheme to hand over control of the conglomerate to the son.

The

Times

reported that it’s unclear whether Lee will try to resume the chairmanship of Samsung.

Since his resignation last year, there has been little doubt about his influence over Samsung, where he and his son remain the largest individual shareholders and where their loyal aides hold critical posts at subsidiaries. During Mr. Lee’s tenure, Samsung Electronics had become South Korea’s best-known and most profitable global brand name.

(Source:

New York Times,

Dec. 30, 2009.)