[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Prosecutors have asked the court to sentence Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was put on trial on charges of "unfair merger" between Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T, to five years in prison. Three years and two months after the indictment in September 2020, the first trial sentence for Chairman Lee and others is scheduled to come out on Jan. 26 next year.

Prosecutors sentenced him to five years in prison and a fine of 500 million won in a decision-making hearing on charges, including violations of the Capital Markets Act by Chairman Lee and others held at the Criminal Agreement Chamber 25-2 (presiding judges Park Jung-je, Ji Gwi-yeon and Park Jung-gil) at the Seoul Central District Court on the 17th.

Choi Ji-sung, former head of Samsung's Future Strategy Office, and Kim Jong-joong, former head of the strategy team, were sentenced to four and a half years in prison, fined 500 million won, and Jang Choong-ki, former deputy chief of the Future Strategy Office, were sentenced to three years in prison and fined 100 million won, respectively.

Prosecutors demanded three years in prison and three years in prison and a fine of 300 million won, respectively, for former vice president and executives Kim and Lee from the Future Strategy Office. All three people, including Choi, a member of Samsung C&T, were sentenced to four years in prison, 300 million won in fines, and Kim, a member of Logics, to three and four years in prison. A fine of KRW 50 million was demanded to Samjeong Accounting Corporation.

"This case is a case that undermined the foundation of the capital market to succeed the head of the group," the prosecution said. "It literally showed a huge gap in Samsung-style fouls as various illegal acts were mobilized in the process."

Chairman Lee and the major defendants flatly denied the charges, saying they had never sought private interests in the merger between the two companies.

"I have never thought of personal interests in the course of the merger, and I have never even thought of damaging other shareholders," Chairman Lee said in a nine-minute final statement. "I did not intend to harm or deceive shareholders as the prosecutor claims."

 

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