Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong jailed for five years on bribery charges

A court in South Korea on Fariday has sentenced Samsung's billionaire heir Lee Jae-yong to five years in prison on bribery charges. Lee was accused of bribery in a scandal that also saw the impeachment of South Korea's former president.

The case has gripped the public amid growing anger against South Korea's biggest companies, known as chaebols. Lee, who denied all charges, had faced a jail sentence of up to 12 years.

Earlier in February 2017, Lee was arrested over his alleged role in a political and corporate scandal, linked to South Korea's impeached president, Park Geun-hye.

Who is Lee Jae-yong?

The 48-year-old Lee, is the son of Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Group, Korea's largest conglomerate. He is also the grandson of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul.

Le studied from a degree college in Seoul before completing a doctorate at Harvard Business School. He became a Samsung president in 2009 and in 2013 was made vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics.

But ever since Lee's father suffered a heart attack in 2014, he has been considered de facto boss of the entire Samsung group. Forbes also ranked him as the 40th most powerful person in the world.

OneIndia News