Prosecutors Seek to Jail Samsung’s Lee After Review Request

Jay Y. Lee speaks during a news conference in Seoul on May 6.Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
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Samsung Group’s billionaire heir and South Korea’s prosecutors are escalating an increasingly public clash over how to resolve a years-long legal dispute over bribery and succession.

Jay Y. Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., this week requested a public assessment of the validity of his indictment, invoking a 2018 statute that allows the formation of a civil panel to review cases. In essence, he is trying to bypass professional prosecutors by appealing to a review committee, which would be made up of outside experts.