Lee trial a litmus test for Seoul, judiciary

The trial of Jay Y Lee, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co, in the bribery and influence scandal case began on Thursday. The prosecutors tried to prove Lee donated millions of dollars to charitable foundations controlled by Choi Soon Sil, a confidante of impeached South Korean President Park Geun hye, to help secure the control of Samsung Group.
At the core of the trial, which is set to last up to three months, will be whether Samsung’s donations to Choi’s dubious non-profit organisations, were intended to win government backing for a controversial 2015 merger that made it easier for Lee to control the Samsung Group chaebol. The scandal led to massive outrage over ‘hand-in-glove’ ties between government and family-run conglomerates.
Lee was arrested and indicted last month on bribery, embezzlement and three other charges that attracts at least five years in jail if he’s proven guilty. The billionaire heir to Samsung has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Samsung lawyers denied all charges brought against Lee questioning the legitimacy of the indictment in a massive corruption scandal that has ensnared the country’s president. Lee’s lawyers contend that prosecutors are trying to prove case against Lee by mentioning a past conviction of his father. They asked prosecutors to rewrite their statement of allegations and to correct its depiction of the strategy office as a team working only for the benefit of the Samsung founding family.
The case is a litmus test both for government and judiciary. The case is seen through the prism of whether South Korea can root out deep-seated collusion between government and business leaders. It’s also viewed as a test of whether the judicial system can end a tradition of leniency towards white collar crimes committed by chaebol, family-controlled South Korean business groups. It would be a daunting task for prosecutors to prove that Samsung gave or promised to give 43.3 billion won ($38 million) to entities controlled by Choi Soon-sil for favours. Prosecutors will have to probe the complex web of ties through which the chaebol that control Korea’s economy allegedly trade money for political favours. Park’s investigation has already led to about 30 indictments and ensnared establishment figures from the president of a prestigious university to the head of the country’s horseback-riding association, who’ve been accused of easing Choi’s daughter’s college admission and equestrian lessons.
South Korea is passing through the rough patch. If the constitutional court upholds Park’s impeachment and remove her from office, it will provoke protests whatever the outcome. The scandal has already engulfed the streets of Korea’s capital for months, as protests spring up regularly under the watch of police in riot gear.
For the health of Samsung group, it is paramount that Lee must win the trial to take the helm at $240 billion corporation trying to bounce back from Note 7 debacle. But it depends on ruling of Seoul Central District Court whether Lee can return to the helm of South Korea’s largest conglomerate. It may also affect public opinion on the legitimacy of his inheriting leadership of Samsung from his father. Although Samsung has said it has a strong management team in place to run the business, a prolonged absence of Lee, Samsung’s de-facto head, may delay major decisions at Samsung Electronics.