Lee Jae-yong, Samsung's de facto head, was acquitted of fraud charges related to a 2015 merger. The Supreme Court's ruling follows earlier trials resulting in not guilty verdicts. Lee faced allegations of using stock and accounting fraud to gain control of Samsung amid his father's health issues. His legal troubles included bribery charges linked to the merger and resulted in jail terms shortened by presidential pardons. The merger's legality was confirmed by the Supreme Court amidst broader scrutiny of corporate corruption in South Korea's conglomerates.
"Today, the Supreme Court has clearly confirmed through its final ruling that the merger of Samsung C&T and the accounting treatment of Samsung Biologics were lawful," said Samsung's lawyers on Thursday.
The younger Lee was first arrested in 2017 on charges of bribery to win the government's support for a merger between two Samsung subsidiaries.
In 2024, a district court cleared Lee of all charges linked to the merger worth around $8bn between two of its subsidiary companies.
The case drew widespread scrutiny of the technology giant, as the country grapples with corporate corruption scandals involving its powerful family-run conglomerates known as chaebols.
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