Top court upholds prison sentence for ex-minister for pressuring NPS' approval of Samsung merger

Figure 1Moon Hyung-pyo, who served as health minister from 2013 to 2015 during the Park Geun-hye administration, enters a court, in this March 29, 2017, file photo. The Supreme Court upheld a two-and-a-half year prison term for a former health minister, Thursday, for pressuring the National Pension Service (NPS) to approve a controversial merger of two Samsung Group affiliates during the previous administration. Yonhap

The Supreme Court upheld a two-and-a-half year prison term for a former health minister, Thursday, for pressuring the National Pension Service (NPS) to approve a controversial merger of two Samsung Group affiliates during the previous administration.

Moon Hyung-pyo, who served as health minister from 2013 to 2015 during the Park Geun-hye administration, was indicted on charges of forcing the NPS to endorse the 2015 merger deal between Samsung CT and Cheil Industries without proper due diligence and inflicting losses for the pension fund. The NPS then held about 11 percent of Samsung CT's shares.

He was previously convicted and sentenced to two-and-a-half years by two lower courts.

The deal was widely seen as a step to enhance Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's control of the family-controlled Samsung Group, after his father Lee Kun-hee suffered a heart attack in 2014.

Moon was among dozens of former officials indicted by a special counsel who looked into the influence-peddling scandal that led to the removal former President Park Geun-hye from office. (Yonhap)