Samsung Electronics Govt Chairman Lee Jae-yong, also referred to as JY Lee, was acquitted of inventory manipulation and accounting fraud by a South Korean court docket on Monday over a controversial merger of two firm associates again in 2015.

The Seoul Central District Court docket dominated that prosecutors didn’t show that the merger of two of Samsung’s associates, Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, again in 2015, was illegal.

Prosecutors had claimed that the merger induced harm to shareholders and was executed primarily to extend Lee’s management over the conglomerate, whereas the chairman’s attorneys argued there was no fraud concerned and the merger was executed to extend the worth of each firms and a part of regular enterprise exercise.

In a press release, Lee’s attorneys mentioned the ruling “clearly confirms” that the merger was lawfully executed and thanked the court docket.

The authorized victory is important for the Samsung Govt Chairman __ the highest boss of the complete Samsung conglomerate __ who was thought of to be held again from taking a extra lively function in administration as a result of case. Samsung recorded one in every of its worst earnings performances in over a decade final yr as a result of international recession that dented demand for shopper electronics and pc chips.

Nevertheless, the ruling is from the district court docket and prosecutors can nonetheless attraction the choice and take the case to the appeals court docket, then later as much as the Supreme Court docket.

Lee was already jailed again in for graft in 2017 and subsequently freed in 2021 from a legally separate case over a bribery scandal involving former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who herself was jailed with an aide for taking bribes from giant companies.

Different 13 executives who have been additionally indicted together with the Samsung Govt Chairman within the inventory manipulation case have been acquitted. Among the many executives was former Samsung Electronics CEO Choi Gee-sung, who is taken into account to be one of many fundamental figures behind Samsung’s success in smartphones and chips at this time.

Lee grew to become the de issue chief of Samsung in 2014 when his father Lee Kun-hee suffered a coronary heart assault and was hospitalized. After the senior Lee handed away in 2020, the present Samsung boss was named formally because the Govt Chairman of Samsung in 2022. JY Lee is the grandson of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull, who based the corporate in 1938.