Samsung Group chief lets lawyers do the talking on first day of trial

On the formal start of what is dubbed as the "Trial of the Century" Thursday, accused Samsung boss Jay Y. Lee just let the best of his 13 lawyers do the talking and do the denying to all the charges against him.

Lee is accused of a range of crimes including bribery, embezzlement and other offenses in a corruption scandal that has already led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.

Lee, who is being detained at Seoul Detention Centre, however was absent in court as it was just a preparatory hearing and South Korea's rules of court allows the defendant not to turn up for the process.  It was a hearing to agree on evidences and set dates for witness testimony.

"It is unclear what kind of order Lee Jae-yong is supposed to have given," Song Wu-cheol, defending Lee, told the court, using his Korean name.

Lee's defense diminished all the claims of the prosecution, arguing that they did not investigate, interview according to the rules or they just stated opinions that are not facts.

Lawyers of the four other co-accused of Lee, all top Samsung executives, also denied the charges. They are out of detention.

The prosecution particularly accused Lee for making bribes via foundations controlled by the friend and confidante of President Park, Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of the scandal that rocked the nation.

The bribes, about $37.2-million donation, were allegedly dangled in exchange for government approval of the 2015 Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries merger that benefited Lee.

But on the day the trial started, CNN Money reported that Samsung conglomerate reported preliminary operating profit of 9.9 trillion won ($8.7 billion) for the first quarter of 2017, which was almost a 50 percent increase from a year ago when it had its fire-prone Note 7 smartphone debacle.

South Koreans are finding that Lee's trial is much bigger trial for chaebols, family-run enterprises, as the Samsung is the biggest family-run conglomerate in the country while Lee's court decision can potentially send big repercussions to chaebols indulging in crony capitalism with persons in power.

A few chaebol leaders in the past got indictments for corruption-related scandals but they were given light punishment or later pardoned.

If Lee is found guilty, he could stay in prison for twenty years.

(Wochit News/YouTube)