 "Samsung's vice chairman Jay Y Lee replaces lawyer ahead of an appeal against the five-year jail term")
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Vice Chairman **Jay Y Lee** has replaced his lawyer ahead of an appeal against the five-year jail term he was given for bribery and other **charges** , a spokesman for his law firm said on Thursday.
[caption id=“attachment_3982775” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Samsung Group chief, Jay Y. Lee. Reuters.[/caption]
Attorney Song Wu-cheol was replaced by Lee In-jae, a more senior representative attorney at law firm Bae, Kim & Lee LLC to “reinforce” the executive’s legal team, the spokesman said without elaborating.
Jay Y Lee, the 49-year-old billionaire heir to one of the world’s biggest corporate empires, was detained in February on charges that he bribed then-president Park Geun-hye to help him secure control of the conglomerate that owns Samsung Electronics, the world’s leading smartphone and chip maker.
The appeals court is expected to **make its ruling** around January, with hearings likely to begin this month.
The attorney Lee has served as chief judge at several courts including Seoul Central District Court before moving to the law firm in 2010, according to his profile on the law firm’s website.
His major practice areas include finance and corporate criminal matters.
The billionaire head of South Korea’s Samsung Group, Jay Y Lee, was **sentenced to five years in jail** for bribery on 7 August in a watershed for the country’s decades-long economic order dominated by powerful, family-run conglomerates.
After a six-month trial over a scandal that brought down the then president, Park Geun-hye, a court ruled that Lee had paid bribes in anticipation of favours from Park.
The court also found Lee guilty of hiding assets abroad, embezzlement and perjury.
Lee, the 49-year-old heir to one of the world’s biggest corporate empires, has been held since February on charges that he bribed Park to help secure control of a conglomerate that owns Samsung Electronics, the world’s leading smartphone and chip maker, and has interests ranging from drugs and home appliances to insurance and hotels.
With inputs from Reuters
