Prosecution not to appeal court ruling on Samsung chief

SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- The prosecution said Thursday it will not appeal the
court ruling that sentenced former Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee to a
suspended jail term for illegal bond transaction.
The Seoul High Court last week convicted the 67-year-old Lee of forcing Samsung
SDS, a system integration unit of Samsung Group, to sell bonds with warrants
(BWs) to his son and daughters at a sub-market price in 1999, causing the company
losses of some 22.7 billion won (US$18.2 million). Lee was given a three-year
prison term, suspended for five years, and ordered to forfeit 110 billion won for
breach of trust.
A team of special prosecutors, established under a parliamentary mandate to
investigate the country's most influential tycoon, said it decided not to appeal
the ruling since it succeeded in its primary goal of getting a guilty verdict.
The prosecution initially sought a six-year jail term for Lee.
Lee and Samsung have until Friday to file for appeal, but officials at the
business group have indicated that they would not, virtually closing the
high-profile case after a legal battle of 13 years.
The lower court had found Lee not guilty of the illicit bond deal, saying the
loss incurred by the illegal action was too small. The Supreme Court remanded the
case, and the high court last week overturned the initial ruling to find Lee
guilty.
Lee was indicted last year for tax evasion and three counts of illegal bond
deals, including the Samsung SDS case.
He was found guilty of tax evasion and sentenced to a suspended jail term by the
Supreme Court in May, but was acquitted of other two charges of illegally
transferring wealth and managerial control to his only son, Jae-yong.
Lee had served as Samsung chairman for 20 years but stepped down from the group's
top management post under public pressure and criticism in April 2008 after the
indictment.
brk@yna.co.kr
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