Samsung chief acquitted of financial crimes related to 2015 merger

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday (Picture: Ahn Young-joon/AP)

A South Korean court on Monday acquitted Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong of financial crimes involving a contentious merger between Samsung affiliates in 2015 that tightened his grip over South Korea’s biggest company.

The ruling by the Seoul Central District Court could ease the legal troubles surrounding the Samsung heir less than two years after he was pardoned for a separate conviction of bribery in a corruption scandal that helped topple a previous South Korean government.