Samsung Boss Lee Jae-yong Convicted, Fined for Anaesthetic Misuse

Lee Jae-yong,  the vice-chairman of the world’s biggest smartphone maker Samsung Electronics, was convicted Tuesday of illegally utilizing the anaesthetic drug propofol, the newest authorized travail to beset the multi-billionaire.

The de-facto chief of South Korea’s sprawling Samsung group and the world’s 238th richest person according to Forbes– was fined 70 million won ($60,000) by the Seoul Central District Court, Yonhap news agency reported.

However, the finned money happens to be around 0.0006 % of his estimated $10.2 billion fortune.

He was found guilty of having repeatedly taken the anaesthetic at a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul over several years.

Propofol is normally a medical anesthetic but its usage is normally seen as a minor offense in South Korea and prosecutors originally proposed fining him 50 million won under a summary indictment, a procedure where less serious cases do not go to court.

However, the South Korean court overruled the prosecution and ordered a trial.

“The quantity injected is very high and the nature of the crime committed is not light considering the social responsibility the defendant bears,” said judge Jang Young-chae.

“But he has confessed to the injection and has never been convicted of this crime before.”

He fined Lee 70 million won and ordered him to forfeit 17 million won in assets, urging him to “adopt exemplary behaviour that your children will not be embarrassed by”.

For those who don’t know, Propofol is also sometimes used recreationally, and an overdose of the drug is said to be the cause of pop star Michael Jackson’s death in 2009.

Lee Jae-yong, was released early from a two-and-a-half-year prison term two months ago over the charges of bribery, embezzlement, and other offenses in connection with the graft case that brought down ex-South Korean President Park Geun-hye.