Lee Jae-yong, the Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, is a free man.<br />He was released from prison on Monday after an appeals court suspended his sentence in the sprawling corruption scandal that brought down the previous Park Geun-hye administration.<br />For more on the verdict and Lee's reaction,... Cha Sang-mi reports. <br /> "Once again, I feel sorry to everyone for not showing my best side. This past year has been a really precious time, a chance to reflect on myself. I will take a look inside and do my best."<br /><br /> "After almost a year behind bars... Samsung Group's heir apparent Lee Jae-yong walked free on Monday after his original sentence was suspended. It was also reduced to 2-and-a-half years, and Lee will spend 4 years on probation."<br /><br /> The de facto leader of Korea's largest conglomerate had been sentenced to five-years in prison in late August 2017 for giving eight-point-one million U.S. dollars to former President Park Geun-hye and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil, offered as a form of sponsorship for Choi's then dressage-rider daughter Chung Yoo-ra.<br /><br /> A special prosecutors' team had demanded a twelve-year jail term for the 50-year-old billionaire on the charges at the time.<br /><br /> The appeals court, however, overturned the lower court's ruling, and reduced Lee's sentence. The court said that Samsung hadn't made any "explicit or implicit request" for government backing of a merger of two Samsung business units, a process deemed vital for his leadership succession and a charge of hiding assets overseas.<br />Four former Samsung executives also had their sentences commuted by the court.<br />Lee was first indicted in February last year on five charges related to his alleged role in the corruption scandal, including bribery, embezzlement, and illegally transferring assets overseas.<br /> After the appeals court's verdict on Monday, attention now turns to the ruling on former President Park Geun-hye.<br />Cha Sang-mi, Arirang News. <br />
