Samsung leader pleads guilty to unlawful sedative use

SEOUL: Samsung conglomerate chief Jay Y. Lee pleaded guilty in court on Tuesday to a charge of unlawful use of a controlled substance, as legal woes mount even after his release on parole in August following a bribery conviction.

Prosecutors said that the use was under the guise of skin treatment or unrelated to a legitimate treatment. “This matter originated as for treatment, but I am deeply regretful,” Lee said. “I will … make sure that this does not happen again,” Lee told the small court of about 15 people.

He said he had not used the drug since his August release. Lee originally sought treatment due to psychological pressure since his father’s hospitalisation in 2014, which intensified with the subsequent graft scandal and trial that led to his January conviction, his lawyer said.

Prosecutors are seeking a fine of 70 million won ($58,327) and an additional fee of 17 million won. The ruling will be on October 26.

Under South Korean law, the recipient of a controlled substance deemed to have been administered illegally is liable for prosecution, as well as those who administered the drug.  Clinic staff, who are being tried separately, have denied wrongdoing.

Prosecutors were first made aware of the matter in 2020 but were advised to drop their investigation in March 2021 by an independent panel reviewing prosecution probes. They continued to seek the maximum fine as recently as June before another police report of sedative use led the court to order a trial.

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The crime carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail or a maximum fine of 50 million won.  Lee was convicted in January of bribery and embezzlement and sentenced to 30 months in jail including a year served before his sentencing.

He was paroled in August, with the presidential office calling for public understanding, citing hope that he will help the country produce “semiconductors and vaccines”.

After his release, Samsung said it would invest 240 trillion won in the next three years in fields such as chips and biopharmaceuticals. Lee himself has kept a low profile.

Lee is simultaneously on trial accused of stock-price manipulation and accounting fraud related to the $8 billion merger of two Samsung firms in 2015, with hearings held weekly.