Court extends CJ chairman’s custody suspension

A Seoul court on Wednesday extended the suspension of imprisonment of food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group chairman by another three months, citing his poor health, court officials said.

The custody suspension of Lee Jay-hyun, who has been staying at a Seoul hospital since being temporarily released from prison in August, will be extended until Feb. 28, said the officials at the Seoul Central District Court.

The 53-year-old Lee, who underwent a key transplant surgery, will stand trial without physical detention, they added.

“The court deems that Lee will experience difficulty in jail,” Judge Kim Yong-gwan said in the verdict. The court recognized that he needs to stay in the hospital for fear of infection.

After serving about a month in prison, the chairman was released from jail in August after the court accepted his request to temporarily suspend his sentence. (Yonhap News)