PARK GEUN-HYE

Samsung’s de-facto leader has secured a pardon of his conviction for bribing a former president in a corruption scandal that toppled a previous South Korean government.

Numerous questions remain about BTS and its seven members after last week's surprise announcement that the group was going to spend more time focusing on solo projects.

For many South Koreans, the former presidential palace in Seoul was a little-visited, heavily secured mountainside landmark.

Former President Park Geun-hye went home three months after being pardoned for one of South Korea’s worst government-corruption scandals.

Three months after being pardoned for one of South Korea’s worst government-corruption scandals, former President Park Geun-hye went home Thursday after being released from a hospital. Some held up banners with photos of Park and her father and signs claiming her innocence or wishing for her happiness.

A conservative former prosecutor declared victory in South Korea’s presidential election after his liberal ruling party rival conceded defeat amid a bitter battle in the politically divided nation.

An unusually bitter election season in South Korea culminates on Wednesday when tens of millions of voters pick their next president.

The rivalry, mudslinging and negative campaigning between the two leading presidential candidates in South Korea are so bad that the loser faces a prospect of going to jail.

South Korea is no stranger to political scandals. But the upcoming presidential race has reached such a new low that it has earned a moniker: the "election of the unfavorables."

The impeachment of Park Geun-hye, after huge protests over corruption, marked the first time a South Korean president was legally removed from office.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in says he will pardon his chief conservative rival and predecessor, Park Geun-hye, who is serving a lengthy prison term for bribery and other crimes.

Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong walked out of prison a year early in a parole decision demonstrating the conglomerate’s outsized influence in South Korea as well as continuing leniency for bosses who commit corporate corruption.

A day before he is released on parole, Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong has appeared in a South Korean court for another trial.

South Korea says it will release billionaire Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong on parole this week after he spent 18 months in prison for his role in a massive corruption scandal that triggered nationwide protests and led to the ouster of the country’s previous president.

South Korea will release billionaire Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong on parole this week after he spent 18 months in prison for his role in a massive corruption scandal that triggered nationwide protests and led to the ouster of the country’s previous president. The announcement Monday by the Justice Ministry, which came with a year left on Lee’s 30-month sentence, extends a history of leniency toward major white-collar crime and preferential treatment for convicted tycoons. It tarnishes the reformist image of President Moon Jae-in, who after winning a presidential by-election in 2017 vowed to curb the excesses of “chaebol,” South Korea’s family-owned conglomerates, and end their cozy ties with the government.

Pressure is mounting on South Korean President Moon Jae-in to pardon Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong now that he has spent nearly four months in prison after his conviction in a massive corruption scandal.

Samsung Electronics says its operating profit for the last quarter jumped 46% from a year earlier driven by increased sales of smartphones and televisions as its business continues to flourish amid the pandemic.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrives at the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Samsung scion Lee will not appeal a court ruling that sentenced him to two and a half years in prison for bribing South Korea's then-president for business favors. But after mulling his options, Lee decided to “humbly accept” the High Court’s decision, his head attorney Injae Lee said. Prosecutors had sought a prison term of 9 years for Lee Jae-yong. It’s not immediately clear what his prison term would mean for Samsung's business.

SINGAPORE — Shares of groups related to South Korean-conglomerate Samsung Group plunged on Monday after Samsung heir Jay. Y Lee was sentenced to two and a half years in jail by a South Korean court on Monday. By Monday's market close in South Korea, shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell 3.41%. Samsung related shares dragged down South Korea's broader index, and the Kospi fell 2.33% by the close of the trading day. The 52-year-old Samsung scion was unexpectedly freed from jail in 2018 after a South Korean appeals court suspended his prior jail sentence.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrives at the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. South Korean court sentences Lee to 2 and a half years in prison over corruption case. Samsung didn’t issue a statement over the ruling. Lee Jae-yong helms the Samsung group in his capacity as vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s largest makers of computer chips and smartphones. It isn’t immediately clear what his prison term would mean for Samsung.

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2017, file photo, former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, left, arrives to attend a hearing on the extension of her detention at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea. South Koreas top court upheld 20-year prison term for Park over corruption on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. But the finalizing of her prison term also makes her eligible for a special presidential pardon, a looming possibility as the country’s deeply split electorate approaches the next presidential election in March 2022. Park originally faced a prison term of more than 30 years before the Supreme Court sent her cases back to a lower court in 2019. Prosecutors appealed after the Seoul High Court handed Park a 20-year term in July last year after merging the two cases.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is questioned by a reporter upon arrival at the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday requested a nine-year prison term for Samsungs de facto chief, Lee, during a retrial of his bribery charges. A team of prosecutors led by independent counsel Park Young-soo demanded the Seoul High Court sentence Lee to prison. Last year, the Supreme Court returned the case to the high court, ruling that the amount of Lee’s bribes had been undervalued. The Seoul High Court is to issue a ruling on Jan. 18, according to South Korean media reports.

SPAINIn Spain, the Congress of Deputies elects the prime minister. In 1996, this led to an awkward situation for the would-be prime minister. As votes were being counted, Jose Maria Aznar's conservative Popular Party thought it won enough seats to make him prime minister. Then, the party that wins the largest number of the 650 constituencies generally takes power, with the party leader becoming prime minister. That means the prime minister must officially be approved by the Queen’s representative in New Zealand, the governor-general.

FILE - In this June 8, 2020 file photo, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea. As Samsung Electronics mourns the death of its long-time chairman, Lee Kun-Hee, questions loom over what's next for South Korea's biggest company. The most crucial long-term question for Samsung is if it will evolve beyond being just a giant in memory chips, smartphones and display screens. Including the late Lee Kun-Hee’s 4.18% stake, the family combined holds a 5.79% of Samsung Electronics. But Samsung’s business likely would run smoothly even if Lee is imprisoned again, said Park Sangin, a professor at Seoul National University.

FILE - In this March 14, 2018, file photo, former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrives for questioning over bribery allegations at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seoul, South Korea. South Koreas top court on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, upheld a 17-year prison term imposed on ex-President Lee over a range of high-profile corruption charges, a ruling that will send him back to jail again. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP, File)SEOUL – South Korea’s top court upheld a 17-year prison sentence on former President Lee Myung-bak for a range of corruption crimes in a final ruling Thursday that will send him back to prison soon. The Supreme Court also confirmed a lower court ruling that ordered Lee to pay 13 billion won ($10.9 million) in fines and forfeit another 5.78 billion won ($4.6 million) for his crimes, court officials said. Before being elected president, Lee served as Seoul mayor.

The charges against Lee and the other Samsung officials include stock price manipulation, breach of trust, and auditing violations related to the 2015 merger between Samsung C&T Corp. and Cheil Industries, said Lee Bok-hyun, a senior official from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office. It went ahead despite opposition from some shareholders who said the deal unfairly benefited the Lee family. Lee was freed in February 2018 after the Seoul High Court reduced his term to 2 years and suspended his sentence, overturning key convictions. However, months later the Supreme Court sent the case back to the High Court, saying that the amount of bribes Lee was judged to have offered was undervalued. Some legal experts say Lee could be sentenced to another term in jail if convicted again.

FILE - In this June 5, 2014, file photo, Park Won-soon, then candidate for Seoul city mayor of the main opposition party New Politics Alliance for Democracy celebrates his victory in the Seoul mayoral election at his office in Seoul, South Korea. Police say on Thursday, July 9, 2020, Park, the current mayor of South Korean capital Seoul, has been reported missing and search operations are underway. The Seoul Metropolitan Government earlier said Park did not come to work on Thursday and had canceled his schedule for the day. He was last seen on security video entering a park at the mouth of the hills late Thursday morning. He was elected Seoul mayor in 2011, upsetting his conservative opponent as an independent candidate backed by opposition liberals.

Before greeting Korean President Park Geun-hye at the Naval Observatory, Vice President Joe Biden encountered a few reporters eager for an update on a possible 2016 White House bid

South Korean president vows to disband coast guard South Korean President Park Geun-hye apologized for the botched rescue effort of the ferry disaster last month and says she bears the ultimate responsibility. More than 300 people are dead or missing in the wake of that disaster. Norah O'Donnell reports.

South Korean president meets with families of ferry victims In a meeting with the families of victims from the ferry disaster off South Korea's coast, President Park Geun-hye promised that those responsible would be severely punished. New documents surfaced showing the ferry was overloaded on 75 percent of its trips since last year. Kelly Cobiella reports.