Samsung group heir should not be indicted, S.Korea panel recommends

SEOU: An external review panel in South Korea recommended that prosecutors should not indict Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee over a 2015 merger and alleged accounting fraud, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said on Friday.

The recommendation could help pave the way for Lee’s attorneys to challenge the justification for the prosecution’s case to try him on charges stemming from the merger of two Samsung affiliates.

The panel comprised 15 experts from fields including legal circles, academia, media and civic groups. Its recommendation is not binding, but the prosecutors have followed such panels’ advice in all eight previous instances, legal experts said.