Samsung boss sentenced to 5 years for corruption

Days after a largely positive launch of the Galaxy Note 8, the head of Samsung has been sentenced to five years in jail. Lee Jae-Yong, who has been in charge of the company since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014, was found guilty of bribing the South Korean government. The heir to the empire has been embroiled in the scandal, which saw the impeachment of the country's president, since last year. His father remains in hospital, making Lee the de facto leader of the electronics giant.

The ruling was delivered yesterday in a court in South Korea, the BBC reports.

Despite denying all charges, Lee was facing up to 12 years in prison for making donations in the vicinity of $36 million to non-profit organizations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a close acquaintance of disgraced former president Park Geun-hye.

In return, the Samsung boss purportedly received political favors that would help him further increase his control over the Samsung Group.

One thing to point out is that, although official, the decision is not yet final. Lee’s legal team has already indicated they are prepping to appeal the ruling at a higher instance. “We are confident the ruling will be overturned,” lawyer Song Wu-cheo told Reuters.