The criminal trial of Lee Jae-yong, who controls Samsung, one of the world’s largest corporate empires, has riveted South Korea since it began last spring. Prosecutors have cast him as a mastermind bent on breaking the law to protect his family’s wealth and power. He says he is a detached leader with little knowledge of the inner workings of his own companies.
Now, his fate hinges on which narrative a judge believes.
Lee, Samsung’s de facto leader and the third generation of his family to run the sprawling conglomerate, on Friday faces a verdict in a blockbuster bribery trial. The