After serving year and a half of his 30-month sentence.
“Samsung Electronics vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong... will be reinstated”
A presidential pardon is important, because it opens the door to Lee retaking the helm of the tech giant founded by his grandfather Lee Byung-Chul. Under Korean law, convicted criminals are barred from holding formal positions at a company like Samsung for five years following their conviction.reports that Lee has continued to receive reports from the company without having an official title.
Lee’s formal return to the company is seen as a potential source of stability, not to mention a potentially politically popular one. As thelast year, around five million people in South Korea own shares in Samsung, leading to widespread support for Lee’s release from prison. But critics say that the pardon is endemic of a cozy relationship between Korea’s business and political elite that verges on the corrupt, the“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to start anew.