Prosecutors seek 6-year jail term, 300 bln won fine for former Samsung chief

SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors sought a six-year jail sentence and a 300
billion won (US$241 million) fine Wednesday for former Samsung Group Chairman Lee
Kun-hee, accused of causing huge financial losses to a Samsung affiliate through
illicit transactions.

Lee, 67, was indicted on charges of forcing Samsung SDS, a systems integration
unit of Samsung Group, to sell bonds and warrants (BWs) to his son and daughters
at a far below-market price in 1999, helping them become the largest shareholders
of the company. The transaction reportedly caused 154 billion won in losses to
the firm.
While a local court and an appellate court found Lee not guilty, the Supreme
Court overruled the verdict in May and remanded the case to an appellate court.
The contradictory ruling was partly due to disagreements on the amount of
incurred losses, with lower courts assessing it at under 5 billion won.
"Even if the prices of the BWs are calculated differently, the resulting losses
well surpass 5 billion won," the prosecution said. "The not guilty verdict by the
lower courts must be overturned."
Investigators also demanded four-year prison terms for Lee Hak-soo and Kim In-ju,
former chief executives of Samsung Group.
The nation's most influential tycoon was acquitted of other charges of illegal
wealth and corporate managerial control transfer to his only son, Jae-yong, by
the Supreme Court in May.
Lee left the group's top management post in April 2008 after 20 years as part of
a group-wide restructuring plan, announced at the peak of the controversial
succession of management control.
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)