An independent counsel Thursday demanded a seven-year jail term for former Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee in a corruption trial that has forced the charismatic CEO to leave the conglomerate.
A sentencing by the Seoul Central District Court is expected next week. Lee, 66, is charged with tax evasion and breach of trust.
Special prosecutor Cho Joon-woong also sought 350 billion won ($350 million) in fine for Lee.
Yonhap News quoted Cho as saying, "The key substance of this case is that the chairman and main shareholder of the conglomerate, in exerting his management right, pursued private interests and engaged in illegal behavior through his secretarial office."
In an independent probe sanctioned by the National Assembly, the special prosecutor charged Lee and seven other Samsung executives, including then Vice Chairman Lee Hak-soo, with evading 112.8 billion won in taxes from illegal stock trading and orchestrating the murky transfer of his group control to his son and heir apparent, Jae-yong.
Lee, who had pleaded not guilty in hearings, called for leniency.
"Looking forward and far ahead and staking everything on competing with foreign companies, I neglected things around myself and dialogue with our society," Lee was quoted as saying in his final statement. "I bear the blame for everything, and I apologize to the people."
Under pressure to revamp, Samsung has announced a series of drastic management changes. Lee quit his job of 20 years, and the family-controlled group dismantled its Strategic Planning Office that strongly influenced group operations, including Samsung Electronics, a move aimed at making its management more transparent.