An indictment is a formal charge against someone who is accused of doing something that’s against the law. There’s no assumption of guilt associated with an indictment because a trial will follow in order to ascertain the truth but it goes to show that the special prosecutor’s office is convinced that it has a strong enough case against the Samsung leader.
This causes a few problems for Samsung, to say the least. Lee Jae-yong has already been behind bars for a couple of weeks and his absence has left a leadership vacuum at South Korea’s most powerful conglomerate. An indictment means that there will be a trial which could take several years to wrap up and all the while Lee Jae-yong will remain behind bars, unable to enjoy the comforts that his position in life afford him or lead Samsung’s day-to-day operations from headquarters in Seoul.
