“The defendant, as a de facto head of Samsung Group...facilitated each
crime, making his role in the crimes and his influence on them considerably
large,” the judge declared. “The defendant also provided false witness at
the parliamentary hearing to hide his criminal acts.”
Twitter and Facebook were alight; South Koreans posted guesses of
“Guilty!” or “Not guilty!”
My email in-box was instantly flooded with queries from business
analysts and reporters. I got a frantic phone call from CNN.
“What does this all mean?!”
Finally, the judge reached his definitive conclusion.
He declared Jay guilty of bribery, embezzlement, and perjury and
sentenced him to five years in prison.
The courtroom gasped.
The ruling was unprecedented. It meant that Jay was not eligible to have
his sentence commuted, as his father had. A sentence of three years or
more prevented judges from suspending a prison sentence.
Jay left the courthouse in a daze, saying nothing, ignoring the phalanx
of reporters and protesters. His police escorts led him to the bus that would
take him to prison.
It was a verdict “I cannot accept as a lawyer,” Jay Lee’s attorney told
reporters, his face red and flushed. His lawyers appealed immediately,
continuing to deny that Jay had committed any wrongdoing. Jay retained his
title of vice chairman and his position on the board of directors, despite
being a convicted criminal—something that would be impossible in a
publicly traded American corporation. And he remained in prison as his
second trial got under way.
Eighteen days later, on September 12, 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook
took the stage to introduce the iPhone X—with a price starting at $999, the
most expensive iPhone ever. Though the iPhone X received praise in some
circles, Apple was no longer the lone innovator in smartphone technology.
In fact, in many ways, in a reversal of roles, it had become more of a fast
follower to Samsung in hardware.
“The iPhone X is basically Samsung’s Note 8 plus animojis,” wrote
ZDNet.
“iPhone X Features: A Leap Forward for Apple but Samsung Is Still
Ahead,” ran a headline in The Independent.