Lee Jae-yong

Lee Jae-yong (; born June 23, 1968) is a South Korean business executive who has been chairman of Samsung since October 2022. In 2017, Lee was convicted of bribery, embezzlement, and concealment of criminal proceeds. He served a prison sentence until being pardoned by President Yoon Suk Yeol in August 2022.

Born into the family that controls the Samsung conglomerate, Lee has held various positions in the company since joining Samsung in 1991. Lee has consistently ranked among the wealthiest persons in South Korea, with a net worth reaching tens of billions of dollars. He has also been named to Forbes’ list of the world’s top 100 billionaries.

Early life and education Lee was born in Washington, D.C., United States to Lee Kun-hee and Hong Ra-hee.

He attended Kyungbock High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian history from Seoul National University, and his Master of Business Administration degree from Keio University, which is a rival university of his father and grandfather's alma mater, Waseda University, Tokyo. Lee is fluent in his native language Korean as well as non-native languages such as English and Japanese.

Career

1991–present: Career at Samsung Lee started working for Samsung in 1991. He began serving as Vice President of Strategic Planning and then as "Chief Customer Officer", a management position created exclusively for Jae-yong. His prospects for future company leadership dimmed when his father Kun-hee stepped down as Chairman due to tax evasion.

In December 2009, however, his succession prospects were revived when Lee became the chief operating officer of Samsung Electronics.

Since December 2012, he has been vice chairman of Samsung. He is one of the main shareholders of Samsung's financial services subsidiary, owning 11 percent of Samsung SDS.

Monetary kickbacks, perjury, arrest and conviction In January 2017, special prosecutors of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea accused Lee of bribery, embezzlement and perjury. Lee was questioned for more than 22 hours. The charges came as part of a "vast influence-peddling case" that led to the impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-hye the preceding month.

An initial request for an arrest warrant was rejected by the Seoul Central District Court in mid-January 2017. In February 2017, Lee was formally indicted, Lee was charged with "offering in bribes to four entities controlled by a friend of then-President Park Geun-hye, including a company in Germany set up to support equestrian training for the daughter of one of Park's friends, Choi Soon-sil" and "Prosecutors alleged the bribes were offered in exchange for government help with a merger that strengthened Lee's control over Samsung at a crucial time for organizing a smooth leadership transition after his father fell ill." A spokesman for Samsung said, "We will do our best to ensure that the truth is revealed in future court proceedings."

Lee was found guilty on each charge by a three-judge panel of Seoul Central District Court in August 2017 and was sentenced to five years in prison (prosecutors had sought a 12-year sentence). In February 2018, the Seoul High Court reduced his prison sentence to 2.5 years, and suspended his prison sentence, leading to Lee's release after one year of detention. In January 2021, Lee was sentenced to two years and six months in prison by Seoul High Court, which found him "guilty of bribery, embezzlement and concealment of criminal proceeds" worth about (, ), and found that Samsung's independent compliance committee, established in 2020, was not yet fully effective.

2021–2022: Pardon

In mid-2021, the United States Chamber of Commerce, a lobbying group of American companies, joined South Korean business groups to urge the president to pardon Lee, arguing that the billionaire executive can help strengthen U.S. President Joe Biden's efforts to end American dependence on computer chips produced overseas amid the 2020–2023 global chip shortage. Lee was released on parole from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang on August 13, 2021; the South Korean government argued that the release was in the national interest. His parole conditions included business restrictions for five years and requiring permission before travelling outside South Korea. Upon leaving prison, Lee apologized, bowing to reporters and saying: "I've caused much concern for the people. I deeply apologize. I am listening to the concerns, criticisms, worries, and high expectations for me. I will work hard."

In August 2021, The Korea Herald reported that Lee retained his title as Samsung's "Vice-Chairman" despite not drawing a salary or being registered as an executive in compliance with his work ban.

In August 2022, President Yoon Suk Yeol granted a pardon to Lee, citing Samsung's importance to the economy; the pardon opened the door for Lee to take up leadership of the conglomerate.

Public image According to an article in Reuters, Lee is known for his "cold" determination and polite, quiet demeanor. Lee is known to reply personally to e-mails, and assumes a light-hearted attitude with reporters. Lim is the Vice Chairwoman of Daesung Group. She filed for divorce in 2009.

Lee is the cousin of CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun and Shinsegae Group CEO Chung Yong-jin.

Lee enjoys golf and horse riding.

Samsung Biologics accounting fraud allegations

Allegations of accounting fraud at Samsung Biologics were repeatedly raised in connection with Lee Jae-yong's succession to the leadership of the Samsung Group. The case was aggressively pursued by prosecutors including Yoon Suk-yeol, Han Dong-hoon, and , who had previously served on the special counsel team that established Samsung's bribery charges during the 2016 political scandal.

Prosecutors framed the investigation not merely as a case of accounting irregularities, but as part of a broader inquiry into the succession of managerial control at Samsung Electronics. In court, prosecutors argued that the group needed to merge Samsung C&T, which held shares of Samsung Electronics, into Cheil Industries in order to facilitate Lee's succession and strengthen his control; that Samsung Biologics, a subsidiary of Cheil Industries, and its own subsidiary Samsung Bioepis were deliberately overvalued to produce a merger ratio favorable to Cheil Industries; and that the company committed accounting fraud by concealing details of call options held by its joint-venture partner.

In 2020, a prosecution investigation review committee took up the accounting fraud allegations together with the allegedly improper merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, and accepted Samsung's position that no illegal conduct had occurred, recommending against indictment. Prosecutors nonetheless indicted Lee, and the matter proceeded to trial. On 17 July 2025, the Supreme Court of Korea upheld the lower courts' rulings and finalized Lee's acquittal on all charges.