Samsung Electronics 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.

Attorney Song Wu-cheol was replaced by Lee In-jae, a more senior representative attorney at law firm Bae, Kim & Lee 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.

Related Articles

Appointments

Korea’s Shim & Kim adds BKL arbitration practice head

by Nimitt Dixit |

South Korean Big Six firm Shin & Kim has bolstered its international arbitration bench with the addition of Brandon (Hyung-Sik) Bang, who previously co-headed the practice at Bae, Kim & Lee.

Appointments

Yoon & Yang welcomes lawyers from Kim & Chang, BKL

by Mari Iwata |

Korean law firm Yoon & Yang has hired three senior foreign attorneys: U.S.-qualified M&A expert Jason W. Lee joins from Kim & Chang, corporate specialist Sung Jin Ro joins from an in-house role at Versum Materials, and China-qualified technology practitioner Song Feng Hong  joins from Bae Kim & Lee.

Features

Fully Prepared

by Sarah Wong |

Cyber-attacks have been vexing law firms over the past few years: According to the 2019 ABA Cybersecurity Tech Report, 26 percent of law firms experienced a form of data breach, while the UK’s SRA believes about 75 percent of firms have been hit. But the threat to law firms extends beyond that, with incidents like power outages, equipment failures, terrorist attacks and natural disasters threatening infrastructure and sensitive data. Leaders say a comprehensive disaster recovery plan requires both hardware competency and a sharp level of alertness.