Samsung Chief Jay Y Lee sentenced to 2.5 years in jail

South Korean tech giant Samsung Group vice chairman Jay Y Lee has been jailed in a bribery case. A South Korean court has sentenced him two and a half years of imprisonment. This new development may lead to negative impact on company's business and future plans globally.

A Seoul court on Monday sentenced Lee in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye and ordered him returned to prison.

p>See Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

The Seoul High Court gave Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co, the prison term for bribing Park and her longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, to win government support for a smooth father-to-son transfer of managerial power at Samsung, the country's top conglomerate.

Park was later impeached and ousted from the presidency for corruption and abuse of power, the news agency IANS reported.

The ruling also cements a major shift in South Korea's view on wrongdoings committed by the owners of the country's top conglomerate. Earlier, He was sentenced to five years in prison but was freed in 2018 after the Seoul High Court reduced the sentence to 2 1/2 years, suspended for four years.

Samsung has been thrown into full emergency mode as Lee's signature drive, "New Samsung," may fall apart amid its efforts to overcome uncertainties caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.