W70m fine finalized for Samsung Lee’s illegal drug use

Samsung Group’s leader Lee Jae-yong will have to pay a 70 million won ($59,200) fine for illegal use of propofol, an anesthetic medication, judicial sources said Wednesday.

The fine was finalized as both prosecutors and the defendant have not filed an appeal by Tuesday, the last day of the seven-day window to appeal the court order.

The Seoul Central District Court last week ordered Lee to pay the fine and an additional forfeiture of 17 million won for violating the Narcotics Control Act in South Korea.

The amount of the fine and the forfeiture have not been changed from what prosecutors initially demanded during the case’s first court hearing in October.

Prosecutors then said they decided to demand the fine based on consideration that Lee has no similar past criminal record. They also took into account the number of times he took the medication.

Lee was first indicted in June on charges of taking propofol for purposes other than medical treatment at a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul. Lee reportedly took propofol on a total of 41 occasions between January 2015 and May last year.

The Samsung chief is currently standing trial over accounting fraud and market manipulation charges related to an $8 billion merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 2015. Lee has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)