Former Samsung chief convicted but won't do time
Former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee saw the suspension of his prison sentence in a tax-evasion conviction on Wednesday, a move that confirmed South Koreans' view that tycoons are immune from jail.
The Seoul Central District Court convicted Lee for failing to pay tens of millions of dollars in taxes, and imposed a hefty fine of 110 billion won (US$109 million) against the man who led the country's most powerful business conglomerate before he resigned in April over the allegations that included a range of fiscal crimes.
Still, the court said putting the 66-year-old Lee behind bars would be too harsh because he did not actively seek to evade the taxes.