Break corrupt ties Samsung should have transparent governance Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was put behind bars again Monday immediately after he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for bribery and embezzlement in connection with a corruption scandal that led to the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye. The sentence is a reminder that no one is above the law. It also sent a clear message that conglomerates and their owners should break their corrupt ties with the political elite and promote transparency and accountability. The Seoul High Court found Lee guilty of bribing Park and her longtime confidant Choi Soon-sil in return for government support for a smooth father-to-son transfer of managerial rights at Samsung Group, the country's largest conglomerate. The ruling came in a re-hearing of evidence after the Supreme Court overturned the appeals court's sentencing of Lee to a suspended jail term, concluding that Lee had offered 8.6 billion won ($7.8 million) in bribes.