Since the beginning of this year, he has been serving a two-year sentence on a notorious corruption case involving the top leadership of South Korea. The scandal led to the overthrow of the country’s ex-president Park Geun-hye. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison on a number of charges. and will be released no earlier than 2039.
Lee Jae Young, Vice President, Samsung:
“I have caused too much anxiety to people. I am very sorry,” the businessman said upon his release from prison.
Lee Jae Young was pardoned for Korea’s Liberation Day. He was greeted by hundreds of demonstrators shouting both support and condemnation.
The current South Korean president, Moon Jae In, elected in 2017, has pledged to reform the chaebols and end the dominance of family conglomerates in the country’s economy.