A South Korean court on Monday acquitted Lee Jae-yong, Samsung’s top executive, on charges of stock price manipulation and accounting fraud, the latest twist in the billionaire’s legal troubles tied to a merger that helped him secure control of the nation’s largest company.
Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of five years and a fine of 500 million won against Mr. Lee, 55. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Samsung is the largest and most successful of the South Korean conglomerates known as chaebol. The group’s electronics arm, Samsung Electronics, alone accounts for about one-sixth of the country’s exports. Mr. Lee, also known as Jay Y. Lee, is South Korea’s wealthiest individual according to Bloomberg News, which estimated his net worth at about $9 billion.
Some South Koreans speak proudly of the chaebol for having helped transform the country from a war-ravaged agrarian economy into a global export powerhouse. But others have increasingly scrutinized whether they stifle smaller businesses or make corrupt deals with government officials without facing enough repercussions.
Most chaebol scandals have stemmed from the families’ attempts to ensure that the next generation inherits control, such as arranging for scions to buy shares of subsidiaries at discounted prices.
Mr. Lee’s legal troubles began when massive protests in Seoul led to the 2016 impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye on charges of collecting or seeking bribes from Samsung and other chaebol and for abusing her power. Ms. Park was jailed in 2017 and pardoned and released in 2022.
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