Summer Of Samsung

Corruption Scandals

Exploding Phones

Countrywide Protests 

Record Profits

- Brad Stone, SamKim And Ian King

“How long does a horse live?”

On a Friday in June, Jay Y. Lee, the de facto head of the Samsung conglomerate, is enduring another afternoon at the Central District Court in Seoul, listening to the prosecution quiz a witness about the finer points of equine health. Lee is on trial for bribery and embezzlement, part of a series of scandals that led in March to the ouster of Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s first female president.

“It depends whether you’re talking about a competition horse, or …”

The windowless fifth-floor courtroom is packed with lawyers, journalists, and citizens who, like the rest of the country, are captivated by the proceedings. Some people are sitting on the floor; everyone is sweating. Clerks shake their heads in disbelief at the suffocating heat, waving their hands in frustration in front of the stagnant air-conditioning vents. Lee, his four co-defendants from Samsung’s executive team, and their phalanx of counsel sip water and mop their faces with handkerchiefs.

“It’s 20, no? It lives about 20 years and reaches its peak between 8 and 10?”

“Yes. I believe that’s the peak.”