Seoul / Hong Kong (CNN Business) Samsung vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong is going back to prison, casting the future of leadership at the massive tech company in doubt.
The Seoul High Court in South Korea sentenced Lee to 2 1/2 years behind bars on Monday after finding him guilty of embezzlement and bribery. He was taken into custody following the verdict.
It’s the latest twist in a controversy that has followed Samsung for years. Lee, also known as Jay Y. Lee, was caught up in a massive influence-peddling scandal that brought down the government of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Park herself is spending some two decades in prison in connection with the case.
Lee, meanwhile, was found guilty of bribery and other corruption charges in 2017, and sentenced to five years in prison at the time. But he walked free after less than a year when an appeals court threw out some of the charges and suspended his sentence.
This latest sentence is the result of a retrial ordered by the country’s Supreme Court.
