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CJ chairman given 3-year term
CJ Chairman Lee Jay-hyun in a wheelchair enters Seoul High Court, Friday. / Yonhap
By Lee Kyung-min
By Lee Kyung-min
An appeals court gave a three-year prison term to CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun charged with embezzlement and tax evasion, Friday, despite earlier petitions from his relatives at Samsung Group to show “leniency” toward him.
Lee was sentenced to four years by a district court in February.
The Seoul High Court, however, reduced the term to three years, considering his deteriorating health and his payment of back taxes. He was also fined 25.2 billion won ($24 million).
He is charged in the amount of tax evasion in the amount of 25.1 billion won ($ 24 million), embezzlement in the amount of 11.5 billion won (11 million) and breach of trust in the amount of 30.9 billion won ($ 29.8 million).
“Lee abused his power as company CEO, and used his power and had his employees engage in illegal activity, resulting in tax evasion, embezzlement, and breach of duty,” the court said.
“As for embezzlement, he knowingly misappropriated company funds for his personal use and to augment his assets. As for tax evasion, he was investigated from 2008 to 2009 for the same charges, and even after that he committed the same crime again by setting up a paper company. As for breach of duty, with bank loans, he personally padded his own assets instead of using the loans to grow the company.”
The judge also said his crime was grave as he planned it for a long time in secrecy.
“Tax evasion by a CEO of a big company is a serious crime, as it presents a bad image and hurts the public, all of whom are taxpayers,” the judge said.
However, Lee was not jailed immediately. He was granted a temporary parole early this year to receive medical treatment for health troubles apparently caused by a kidney transplant he received last year.
On Aug. 19, Lee’s family members filed a petition directly to the presiding judge Kwon Ki-hoon asking for clemency citing his ill health.
They also said the group’s financial health was put at risk due to the chairman’s absence, as decisions were indefinitely delayed until the final ruling.
Lee Kun-hee and his son Lee Jae-yong, vice president of Samsung Electronics, Lee Myung-hee, the chairwoman of Shinsegae, and Lee In-hee, the founder of Hansol Group had signed the petition.
Lee is the grandson of Lee Byung-chul, the founder of Samsung Group, and the nephew of Lee Kun-hee, the chairman of Samsung Electronics.
The petition was seen as a gesture of reconciliation after the legal dispute over inheritance between the Samsung family members, CJ Group and Samsung Group, which ended February this year.