Samsung heir sentenced to 5-year prison term for corruption

A South Korean court sentenced the billionaire heir to the Samsung business empire to a five-year prison term after finding him guilty of bribery and other corruption charges, CNN reported.

Lee Jae-yong, son of Samsung’s ailing chairman and the de facto chief of the company, was found guilty of offering bribes to South Korea’s former president, CNN reported. Other charges included embezzlement, hiding assets overseas, concealing profit from criminal acts and perjury. The sentence was much more lenient than the 12-year prison term prosecutors had sought.

Samsung is the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer. Share prices of the company’s stock fell 1.5 percent in Seoul after the verdict was read, CNN reported.