The vice president from the world's largest smartphone and memory chip maker was pardoned today by South Korea's president.
Jay Y. Lee was pardoned by Yoon Suk-Yeol; Image: Fortune
The Samsung vice president was charged with bribery and faced 2.5 years in prison. However, South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol pardoned him today and now Jay Y. Lee does not have to go to prison anymore.
The reason for this pardon is that South Korea is in an economic crisis. Jay Y. Lee, according to the president, should be a leader in economic growth by Samsung investing in technology to create jobs.
However, this is a power symbol of Samsung. This is because Jay Y. Lee is part of Samsung's direct heir and has a fortune of $7.9 billion. President Yoon felt oppressed and he had no choice since Samsung accounts for over 20% of the gross domestic product. So ruining the company would not be tactically smart.
