On the 25th, the court sentenced Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to the two years and six months imprisonment in relation to the Gukjeong Nongdan case. This is because Vice Chairman Lee and the Special Prosecutors’ Team Park Young-soo decided not to reapply to the Supreme Court on the result of the sentence for remand for revocation on the 18th. Vice-Chairman Lee was handed over to trial at the end of February 2017, and the final decision was confirmed in about four years.
First, Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s lawyer Lee In-jae said that morning, “Vice-Chairman Lee humbly accepted this ruling and decided not to reapply.” In the afternoon, the special prosecution team said, “We decided that the judgment on the 18th was based on the purpose of the decision of the Supreme Court, so we decided not to reapply.” “The purpose of the special prosecution law to find out the truth of the’Gukjeong Nongdan suspicion case by a private person’ has actually achieved.” Said.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is present at a hearing on the remand of the ruling court on the afternoon of the 18th at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Reporter Woo Sang-jo
Earlier on the 18th, the first criminal division of the Seoul High Court (deputy judge Jung Joon-young) sentenced Lee to two years and six months in prison for bribes to former President Park Geun-hye and Choi Seo-won (previously renamed Choi Soon-sil). However, the actual sentence remaining for Vice Chairman Lee is about a year and a half. This is because Vice-Chairman Lee was arrested on February 17, 2017, and was sentenced to probation in an appeals court on February 5, 2018, and served 353 days before being released.
Both sides judged’it is not profitable to reappear’
It is analyzed that the reason that both sides of Vice Chairman Lee and Special Prosecutors gave up re-appeals side by side is because there is no benefit. In general, in order to appeal (a system for filing an objection to a higher court), the judgment of the court below must have reasons such as misconception, misunderstanding of the law, and unfair sentencing. Considering the fact that in August 2019, the entire Supreme Court’s consensus had already judged guilty and innocent, it is difficult to misunderstand the facts as a reason for reappeal.
Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong Graphic image of how the court judgment on bribery has changed. Reporter Cha Jun-hong
Also, it is not persuasive to present a misunderstanding of the law. This is because the vice-chairman Lee’s bribery and embezzlement amount was set at 8.68 billion won. Even if a re-appeal is held, it is the public opinion of the legal community that the possibility of the Supreme Court overturning the past ruling is small.
It also does not fall under unfair sentencing conditions. According to the current law (Article 383 of the Criminal Procedure Act), only in cases where the death penalty, life sentence, or imprisonment for more than 10 years was sentenced as a reason for appeal, vice-chairman Lee, who was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, is not applicable. to be.
Above all, Vice-Chairman Lee, who was sentenced to 50% of the statutory sentence for embezzlement of 5 billion won or more under the Weighted Penalty Act for specific economic crimes (reduction of punishment at the discretion of judges), which is the maximum amount by the court (reduction of punishment at the discretion of the judge), reappeals Even if it was, there was no benefit. Regarding this, the special prosecution team said, “It is light in the light of the recognized crimes and sentencing standards that the Vice-Chairman Lee, who was sentenced to 9 to 5 years in prison, was sentenced to be lightly.” He also said, “We decided that there was no other legitimate reason for appeal.”
Can I parole this vice-chairman?
In the legal profession, there is also a prospect that Lee, who gave up re-appeal, may seek parole in the future to minimize the management gap. Attorney Pil-woo Lee (Gangnam Law Firm) said, “If you meet one-third of the sentence under the criminal law and your corrections are good, you will be eligible for parole, but in reality, inmates who have filled two-thirds of the ordinary sentence are often paroleed.” Even if it is difficult right now, Vice-Chairman Lee is considered a model number, and by August this year, it meets practical conditions and deserves parole.”
As Vice-Chairman Lee’s sentence was confirmed, most of the cases prosecuted by the special prosecutors’ team, including the case of bribery in support of the equestrian and gifted centers, and the case of corruption and non-trial treatment at Ewha Womans University’s entrance examination, Jung Yu-ra, have entered the final stage. The remaining sentences related to Gukjeong Nongdan are the aid of former Min Jeong Nongdan, former Min Jeong-woo, scheduled on the 28th, and the appeal of an appeal for illegal inspection. The’blacklist case for the exclusion of support for the culture and arts industry’, which was destroyed and repatriated by the Supreme Court beforehand, is being tried in the second criminal division of the Seoul High Court and is expected to be sentenced from March to April.
Reporter Park Hyun-joo [email protected]