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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

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A South Korean court on Friday sentenced Lee Jae-yong (centre) to five years in jail.

Last Updated : Aug 28 2017 | 10:30 PM IST

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 Jae-yong, the third-generation de facto leader of one of the world’s largest business empires, to five years in prison after his conviction of bribery, embezzlement and other charges. Lee’s attorneys have said they will appeal, and experts predict a fierce legal battle.

Lee is not the first big business figure in South Korea to be convicted, but if he stays in prison it would represent something of a milestone. His father, Samsung’s longtime chief, was twice convicted of crimes and twice pardoned by a South Korean president. Other top business South Korean leaders have avoided conviction, negotiated light sentences or been allowed to run their corporate empires from prison.

South Korea’s government is now run by a president, Moon Jae-in, and a political party that have criticised the excesses of the country’s biggest companies. That has many in South Korea predicting that Lee, if his conviction is upheld, will serve out his prison term. But to many South Koreans, Samsung and its many corporate offshoots symbolise the country’s rise from war and poverty to become one of the original Asian economic success stories. Should Samsung stumble while Lee is in prison, public pressure could mount to free him.

“Samsung is the No 1 brand of Korea, one we’re proud of,” said Cho Wung-ki, a 78-year-old retired businessman, whose son works at a Samsung company that provides engineering services, runs resorts and owns a fashion line. “That’s why I don’t believe putting Lee Jae-yong in jail helps the country at all.”