The presidential pardon is reminiscent of two given to Lee’s father, Lee Kun-hee, who was convicted of corruption and tax evasion in 1996 and 2008. “In an effort to overcome the financial crisis by reviving the economy, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, whose prison sentence ended recently, will be reinstated,” the South Korean government said in a statement reported by the Financial Times. The pardon is the latest twist in a bribery scandal dating back to 2017, when Lee was accused of bribing then-President Park Geun-hye. The Samsung heir was initially sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of corruption, but served less than a year of his sentence before being released on appeal. He was then re-imprisoned in January 2021 before being released again in August of that year on parole. In total, he served a year and a half of the 30-month sentence. “Samsung Electronics Vice President Lee Jae-yong…will be reinstated” A presidential pardon is significant because it opens the door for Lee to retake the helm of the tech giant founded by his grandfather Lee Byung-Chul. Under Korean law, convicted criminals are barred from holding official positions at a company such as Samsung for five years after their conviction. Bloomberg reports that Lee continued to receive reports from the company without an official title. Samsung is currently without a chairman following the death of Lee Kun-hee in October 2020. But Bloomberg notes that the pardon opens the door for Lee to return and move forward with major strategic decisions that are arguably necessary as The chaebol is grappling with inflation, instability caused by the war in Ukraine, supply chain problems created by China’s Covid lockdowns, and complications arising from escalating US-China relations. Lee’s official return to the company is seen as a potential source of stability, not to mention a potentially popular one politically. As The Associated Press noted last year, about five million people in South Korea own Samsung stock, which led to widespread support for Lee’s release. But critics say the pardon is endemic of a cozy relationship between Korea’s business and political elite that borders on the corrupt, the Financial Times notes. “Thank you for giving me the chance to start over. I am sorry for causing many people worry,” Lee said in a statement. “I will try harder to give back to society and grow together.” But the businessman’s legal troubles are far from over, as he still faces separate charges of stock manipulation in connection with the merger of two Samsung subsidiaries.
