South Korean court gives Samsung heir prison term over bribery

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong arrives at the Seoul High Court (Lee Jin-man/AP)

Billionaire Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong has been sent back to prison after a South Korean court sentenced him to two-and-a-half years over his involvement in a 2016 corruption scandal that spurred massive street protests and ousted South Korea’s then-president.

In a retrial, the Seoul High Court found Lee guilty of bribing then-president Park Geun-hye and her close confidante to win government support for a 2015 merger between two Samsung affiliates that helped strengthen his control over the country’s largest business group.