The de-facto leader of the sprawling Samsung group Lee Jae-Yong went on trial Tuesday on charges of illegally using the anaesthetic propofol, the latest legal travail to beset the multi-billionaire, IgbereTV reports.
Lee — the vice-chairman of the world’s biggest smartphone maker Samsung Electronics and according to Forbes the world’s 297th richest person — is accused of having repeatedly taken it at a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul in 2017 and 2018.
Propofol is normally a medical anaesthetic but is also sometimes used recreationally, and an overdose of the drug was given as the cause of pop star Michael Jackson’s death in 2009.
Usage is normally seen as a minor offence in the South and prosecutors originally proposed fining him 50 million won ($42,000) under a summary indictment, a procedure where less serious cases do not go to court.
But the court overruled the prosecution and ordered a trial.
Wearing a dark grey business suit and a facemask, Lee remained tight-lipped as he entered the Seoul Central District Court, skipping questions from reporters.
In court, prosecutors demanded a larger fine of 70 million won, Yonhap news agency reported.
Lee’s lawyers maintain the substance was administered for medical reasons.
