Samsung
Ex-health minister sentenced in Samsung scandal
- PUBLISHED :June 08, 2017 - 15:53
- UPDATED :June 08, 2017 - 15:53
[THE INVESTOR] Former Health Minister Moon Hyung-pyo was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail on June 8 on charges of abuse of power in the controversial merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015.
The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence to the former minister from 2013-2015 for pressuring the National Pension Service to back the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.
The merger was considered a crucial step ahead of a leadership transfer at the nation’s largest conglomerate. The jailed Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong is suspected of bribing former President Park Geun-hye’s close friend Choi Soon-sil to get backing from the NPS for the merger.
By Alex Lee and news wires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)