South Korea's top court upholds acquittal of Samsung's Lee over contentious 2015 merger

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s top court Thursday upheld the acquittal of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on financial criminal charges, ending years of legal disputes over the 2015 merger between Samsung affiliates that solidified his control over the company.

In 2024, the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Lee of charges like stock price manipulation and accounting fraud by ruling that prosecutors failed to sufficiently prove the merger was unlawfully conducted with an aim to strengthen Lee’s control over Samsung.

The Seoul High Court upheld the district court's ruling in February, and the Supreme Court dismissed prosecutors' appeal of the high court's decision Thursday. Its ruling is final and cannot be appealed.

Samsung’s lawyers said in a statement that they “sincerely thank” the Supreme Court for “wisely" ruling on the case. They said the ruling confirmed the 2015 merger was legitimate.

Lee, a third-generation corporate heir who was officially appointed chairman of Samsung Electronics in 2022, has led the Samsung group of companies since 2014, when his late father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack. The senior Lee died in 2020.

Lee Jae-yong served 18 months in prison after being convicted in 2017 on separate bribery charges related to the 2015 merger.

He was originally sentenced to five years in prison for offering bribes to then-President Park Geun-hye and her close confidante to win government support for the merger, which was key to strengthening his control over the Samsung business empire and solidifying the father-to-son leadership succession.

Lee was paroled in 2021 and pardoned by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2022.

Some shareholders opposed the 2015 merger, saying it unfairly benefited the Lee family while hurting minority shareholders.

FILE - Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, center, is questioned by reporters as he leaves the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

FILE - Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrives at the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)