Samsung scion Lee Jae-Yong faces new bribery trial in corruption scandal

The heir to the Samsung empire arrived at court Friday for a retrial over a sprawling corruption scandal that threatens to disrupt management at the world’s biggest smartphone and memory chip maker.

Lee Jae-yong is vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics — where profits have been falling for months — 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 after an appeals court dismissed most of his bribery convictions and gave him a suspended sentence, but that decision was set aside by the Supreme Court in August, which ordered a retrial.

Accompanied by his lawyers, Lee walked stony-faced into the Seoul High Court for the new proceedings, only telling reporters: “I’m sorry for causing many people concern.