SEOUL: South
Korea's top court ordered new trials yesterday for former president Park
Geun-hye and Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong over the corruption scandal that brought
her down, in a blow to the world's biggest smartphone and memory chip maker.
Park is serving a 25-year jail term after being convicted last year on bribery
and abuse of power charges.  But Lee,
whose sprawling conglomerate is vital to the health of the world's 11th-largest
economy, had many of his convictions quashed on appeal in February 2018 and was
released after being given a suspended sentence.

Their trials
highlighted shady links between big business and politics in South Korea, with
Park and her close friend Choi Soon-sil accused of taking bribes from corporate
bigwigs in exchange for preferential treatment. South Korea's Supreme Court on
Thursday sent all three of their cases back for new proceedings, saying that
errors had been made in the judgments. After a 10-month trial -- in which she
boycotted most of the proceedings in protest at being held in custody -- Park
was convicted in April last year of receiving or demanding more than $20
million from conglomerates, sharing secret state documents,
"blacklisting" artists critical of her policies, and firing officials
who resisted her abuses of power.

She was sentenced
to 24 years, later extended for an additional 12 months. But the Supreme Court
ruled that under the country's public official election act, courts must rule separately
on bribery accusations when incumbent or former presidents face multiple
criminal charges. "We send the case back to the Seoul High Court,"
said chief justice Kim Myeong-su. South Korean media warned that the ruling
might not work out in her favour, as if she is convicted again in two separate
verdicts she could face a longer total sentence in total.

'Square one'

Samsung is by far
the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in
South Korea, and crucial to the country's financial health. Lee is
vice-chairman of its flagship subsidiary Samsung Electronics, and his case
centered on millions of dollars the group paid Choi, allegedly for government
favors such as ensuring a smooth transition for him to succeed his ailing
father.

He was initially
jailed for five years in 2017 before his successful appeal, which chief justice
Kim said "misunderstood the law on bribery". In a key section of
Thursday's ruling, the court said three horses worth 3.4 billion won (US$2.8 million)
that Samsung Group donated for the equestrian training of Choi's daughter did
amount to bribes.

It was not
immediately clear whether Lee would be returned to prison pending his new trial
but analysts said the ruling could complicate management at Samsung
Electronics. Yonhap news agency quoted a high-ranking Samsung official calling
the ruling the firm's "worst nightmare" and adding it increased
"uncertainties at the leadership when the company is already going through
hard times".