Samsung heir apologises over corruption scandal

Lee Jae-yong is vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics and was jailed for five years in 2017 for bribery, embezzlement and other offences AFP/Jung Yeon-je

Lee Jae-yong is vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics and was jailed for five years in 2017 for bribery, embezzlement and other offences in connection with the scandal that brought down South Korean president Park Geun-hye.

The 51-year-old was released a year later on appeal but is currently undergoing a retrial.

"Our technology and products are being hailed as first-class but the public gaze towards Samsung still remains harsh," Lee said. "This is my fault. I apologise."

Lee bowed three times before flashing cameras at a Samsung Electronics office in Seoul, where reporters sat apart under coronavirus distancing rules.

He will not allow his children to succeed him at the firm, he said in steady tones, swallowing occasionally.

Wednesday's apology came at the request of Samsung's compliance committee, which oversees the firm's transparency in its corporate dealings.

Lee has effectively been at the helm of the sprawling Samsung group since his father and group chairman Lee Kun-hee was left bedridden by a heart attack in 2014.

The court case centred on millions of dollars the Samsung group paid Park's secret confidante Choi Soon-sil, allegedly for government favours including ensuring a smooth transition for Lee to succeed his ailing father.

The scandal highlighted shady connections between big business and politics in South Korea, with the ousted president and her friend accused of taking bribes from corporate bigwigs in exchange for preferential treatment.

Samsung Electronics is the flagship subsidiary of the group, which is by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates, or chaebols, that dominate business in the world's 12th-largest economy.

Its overall turnover is equivalent to a fifth of the national gross domestic product and it is crucial to South Korea's economic health.

Chairman Lee Kun-hee is listed as South Korea's richest man - and the world's 65th - by Bloomberg Billionaires, with a fortune estimated at US$15.7 billion, while Lee Jae-yong has a separate listing of his own, and a net worth of US$5.7 billion.