Samsung's size could make it tough to keep its leader in prison

Samsung dominates South Korean business, social life in a difficult way for outsiders to comprehend

This is a partial list of the businesses of Samsung, the South Korean business empire: smartphones, microchips, insurance, gas ovens, hospitals, dishwashers, cargo ships, stocks, microwave ovens, apartment buildings, vacuum cleaners, credit cards, pharmaceuticals, air-conditioners and bidets.

Samsung is South Korea’s No 1 brand and when all its products are added together, its single biggest export. It dominates South Korean business and social life in a way that can be difficult for outsiders to comprehend.

That dominance may make it difficult to keep its top executive in prison.

A South Korean court on Friday shocked the country by sentencing Lee