Samsung leader Lee set to stand trial for alleged unlawful use of sedative

Samsung conglomerate leader Jay Y. Lee is set to stand trial charged with the unlawful use of a controlled substance, as legal woes continue to haunt the executive even after his release on parole in August following a bribery conviction.

Lee’s release had raised market watchers’ expectations of a flurry of major decisions at crown jewel Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and its affiliates, including the location of a $17 billion chip factory being planned in the United States.

But Lee is having to refocus on his legal troubles, with the Seoul Central District Court scheduled to hold its first hearing of a case in which Lee is suspected of receiving propofol – a sedative used in anaesthesia – outside of medical purposes at a clinic in Seoul.