SEOUL-- Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong made his first public appearance Thursday since his release on parole to attend a trial over a suspected fraud and stock manipulation case.
The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co. was charged in September with unfair trading, stock manipulation and breach of trust in relation to the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates, Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T, seen as a key step toward his succession, and suspected accounting fraud at the pharmaceutical unit of Samsung Biologics.
He was released Friday after serving seven months in prison for a separate bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye, after the Ministry of Justice granted him parole citing the impact of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic on the country's economy and "social sentiment, and (the prisoner's) behavior and attitude."
On Thursday morning, Lee did not respond to questions, including the one regarding a work restriction, from reporters waiting outside the Seoul Central District Court.
Under the law, Lee is barred from working at Samsung for five years. The Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes bans those convicted of embezzlement or breach of trust involving amounts over 500 million won (US$436,300) from being employed by companies related to their crimes or any institution that receives government subsidies.
Although the restriction remains in place, he is widely expected to circumvent the rule.
Earlier in the day, Justice Minister Park Beom-kye said the ministry could not intervene in the internal discussions of the board members at Samsung Electronics regarding the vice chairman's work there.
"Vice Chairman Lee has been unpaid and has served as a nonpermanent and unregistered executive for many years," he said.
Given that, the minister continued, Lee cannot be seen as being "employed" by the company in the strict sense of the word.
But civic groups countered the argument. Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice has said it would file a formal complaint against Lee over a violation of the law.
Source: Yonhap News Agency