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Seoul, South Korea —
A South Korean court acquitted Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong on Monday of a raft of crimes linked to a controversial 2015 merger, Lee’s lawyers said.
Yonhap news agency reported that the court said it did “not recognize intention to harm shareholders” through the merger, which critics had claimed was bad value and done mostly to ensure a smooth third-generational power transfer to Lee, a scion of Samsung’s founding family.
“Solidifying Lee’s control and ensuring his succession wasn’t the only purpose of…