Samsung scion Lee appeals against 5-year jail term for bribery

Seoul: A defence lawyer for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee has filed an appeal against the five-year jail term he was given for bribery and other charges, the Seoul Central District Court`s website said on Monday.

The website did not give any details about the appeal, which will be assigned to a higher court. 

The sentencing of the billionaire scion was a watershed for South Korea`s decades-long economic order, which has been dominated by powerful, family-run conglomerates. 

Lee`s lawyer has steered media inquiries to Samsung, whose spokeswoman did not have any immediate comment about the appeal against the sentence handed down on Friday. 

Lee, the 49-year-old 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 secure control of the conglomerate that owns Samsung Electronics, the world`s leading smartphone and chip maker.

Samsung Group has interests ranging from drugs and home appliances to insurance and hotels. 

Under Korean law, Lee can be kept in detention a maximum four months while a court considers his appeal. 

On Monday, shares of Samsung Electronics fell more sharply than the wider Korean market. At 0407 GMT, the share was down 1.6 percent, compared with a 0.4 percent drop for the benchmark Kospi index.