SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a 12-year prison term for Samsung’s jailed billionaire heir Lee Jae-yong for his conviction on bribery and other charges, according to a Seoul court hearing his appeal.

In August, a lower court sentenced Lee to five years in prison for offering bribes to former South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her confidante while Park was in office. Both Lee and prosecutors, who earlier had requested a 12-year prison term, appealed that ruling.

The Seoul High Court said it expects to issue a verdict on Lee in the coming weeks. If that verdict is appealed again either by Lee or prosecutors, his case will go to the Supreme Court.

Lee’s bribery case is part of a huge political scandal that led to the ouster of Park in late March. Park and her friend, Choi Soon-sil, were arrested and charged with taking bribes from Samsung in return for helping Lee cement his control of the company for a smooth power transfer.

Prosecutors have also charged Park and Choi with pressuring Samsung and other big businesses to donate $68 million won for the launch of two nonprofit foundations controlled by Choi.

Samsung, founded by Lee’s grandfather, is one of the key family-run South Korean conglomerates, known as chaebols.

Lee, whose official tile is vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, took a higher-profile role after his father and Samsung chair Lee Kun-hee suffered a heart attack in 2014. Lee has claimed innocence during his trials.

Samsung is the world’s largest maker of smartphones, televisions and microchips.

Copy the Story Link