Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong acquitted again in appeal over alleged illegal merger

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has had his acquittal upheld by an appeals court with regard to allegations of unfairly merging Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T.

In 2015, Lee was accused of orchestrating the merger to secure control over Samsung Electronics as Samsung C&T was a major shareholder of the company.

Lee attended the ruling at the Seoul High Court earlier today, as the judges ruled that he was not guilty of a wide array of allegations ranging from illegal trading to market manipulation to breach of duty.

Last year, a lower court cleared him of all charges, ruling that the merger appeared driven by business needs.