Samsung Chief Lee Jae-yong Acquitted Of Financial Crimes

(RTTNews) - Samsung Electronics Co. Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong was acquitted of stock manipulation charges by a Seoul court on Monday.

Lee was found not guilty on charges of stock manipulation and accounting fraud connected to a controversial merger in 2015 of two Samsung affiliates.

The judge said that there was not enough evidence to prove the prosecutors' charges against Lee and 13 other current and former Samsung officials.

"Even if Lee's control has been strengthened, the merger in this case cannot be considered unfair, as long as there is a reasonable purpose for the merger," Seoul Central District Court chief judge Park Jung-jae said.

Last year, South Korean prosecutors had alleged that Lee and other executives inflated the stock price of a textile company, Cheil Industries, and devalued a construction and engineering company, Samsung C&T, ahead of the merger.

They also alleged the merger of the two firms was done with an intent to strengthen Lee's power over the conglomerate, against the business interests of each Samsung affiliate that merged.

Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of five years and a fine of 500 million won against Lee.

Lee's lawyers said in a statement that the decision "clearly confirmed the legality" of the merger and the accounting of its affiliates.