Like the lower court, the appeals court did not accept prosecutors’ evidence of accounting fraud as admissible

A South Korean appeals court cleared Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong Monday of stock manipulation and accounting fraud related to the 2015 merger of two of the company's affiliates.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong was acquitted in an appellate trial on Feb. 3, clearing him of stock manipulation and accounting fraud charges related to the controversial merger between two Samsung affiliates in 2015.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee was found not guilty of accounting fraud and stock manipulation by a Seoul appeals court on Monday, in a ruling that could remove long-running legal risks that he has faced from criminal cases.

Samsung's executive chairman Jay Y. Lee has been cleared of criminal charges by South Korea's second-highest court, Bloomberg reported. Earlier on Monday, the Seoul High Court upheld an earlier decision acquitting Lee of stock manipulation and accounting fraud charges over a 2015 merger.

Samsung chair Lee Jae-yong has secured a major legal victory with an appeals court clearing him of long-running accounting fraud and stock manipulation charges, allowing him to focus on turning around the group’s struggling chip business.