Lee Jae-Yong arrives at the High Court in Seoul where he was sentenced to two and a half years behind bars in the retrial of a bribery case ©Getty Images

The heir and de facto head of Samsung, a longstanding sponsor of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is going back to prison, in a move that may deprive South Korea’s largest conglomerate of its top decision-maker for up to 18 months.

It has been widely reported that Seoul’s High Court today sentenced Lee Jae-Yong to two-and-a-half years in jail in a retrial of a bribery case involving former South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.

Lee, the son of recently-deceased Samsung head and long-time IOC member Lee Kun-Hee, had previously spent a year in prison and is hence only expected to serve a further 18 months.

That initial spell behind bars was as part of what was originally a five-year sentence imposed in 2017.

An appeals court later dismissed most of his bribery convictions and gave the 52-year-old a suspended sentence.

However, the Supreme Court subsequently ordered a retrial.

Samsung could be without its top decision-maker for up to 18 months after Lee Jae-Yong's sentencing by a court in Seoul today ©Getty Images
Samsung could be without its top decision-maker for up to 18 months after Lee Jae-Yong's sentencing by a court in Seoul today ©Getty Images

According to the Yonhap news agency, Lee stared forward blankly upon hearing today’s verdict before flopping onto a chair and talking with his lawyers.

One Lee lawyer, Lee In-Jae, described the ruling as "regrettable."

Yonhap reported that some Lee supporters protested against the ruling in the courtroom in tears.

However, it was welcomed by anti-corruption activists.

The company – the world’s biggest manufacturer of computer chips and smartphones – has fared reasonably well during the coronavirus pandemic, partly as a consequence of United States sanctions against competing Chinese products.

Samsung is the worldwide The Olympic Partner programme sponsor in the wireless communications equipment and computing equipment product categories.

The company acted as a local sponsor of the Seoul Olympics in 1988, becoming a worldwide partner in the wireless communications equipment category ahead of the Nagano Winter Games a decade later.