Prosecutors asked a South Korean court to extend the prison term for Samsung Electronics heir-apparent Jay Y. Lee to 12 years, in an appeal of his five-year sentence for allegedly bribing his way to greater control of the country’s biggest company.
Lee, 49, is the highest-profile business figure to be embroiled in an influence-peddling scandal that led to the ouster of President Park Geun-hye last year. In August, a Seoul court convicted the Samsung Electronics vice chairman of giving Park’s friend thoroughbred horses in the hope it would help secure government support for his ascension to the top of the company, Bloomberg reported.
Prosecutors originally sought 12 years for Lee in August, saying such a sentence would help “establish the rule of law” in a country where ties between government and business have come under renewed scrutiny since the scandal emerged.
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