Samsung heir Lee sentenced to 70 mln won fine for illegal use of propofol

All News 12:04 October 26, 2021

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to a 70 million won (US$60,055) fine Tuesday for illegally using propofol, an anesthetic medication, dozens of times over a period of years.

The Seoul Central District Court also ordered an additional forfeiture of 17 million won as it convicted Lee of violations of the Narcotics Control Act.

The fine and the forfeiture are the same as what prosecutors had demanded for Lee.

In June, prosecutors indicted the Samsung Electronics Co. vice chairman on charges of taking propofol for purposes other than medical treatments at a plastic surgery clinic in southern Seoul on a total of 41 occasions during January 2015 and May last year.

Lee previously served time in jail, as he was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison by the Seoul High Court on Jan. 18 in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye. He was released on parole in August.