Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and the heir to the conglomerate, was sentenced to five years in prison last week. The sentence was handed down after his trial on allegations of embezzlement, bribery and perjury.
Lee was alleged to have paid bribes to former President Park Geun-hye of South Korea through her close confidant in order to win the government's support for a crucial merger of two Samsung subsidies which helped cement the Lee family's control over the conglomerate.
The prosecutors had actually recommended a 12 year sentence for the Samsung heir but the court saw it fit to only award a sentence of five years.
“As a lawyer I cannot possibly agree with the juridical decisions and acknowledged facts involved in the verdict,” said Samsung’s in-house attorney Song Woo-cheo when the sentence was confirmed, adding that the decision would be appealed.
Lee has now filed an appeal against last week's ruling through his attorney Kim Jong-hoon. Lee's attorneys say that they don't accept the verdict and they remain confident that he will be cleared of all charges in the appeals court.
It's likely that the first hearing for the appeals trial is going to take place at some point next month.
