South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld lower-court rulings that had cleared Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee of accounting fraud and stock-manipulation charges tied to an $8 billion 2015 merger between group affiliates Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T. The top court dismissed prosecutors’ final appeal, making Lee’s acquittal final nearly five years after he was indicted and about a decade after the contested deal was executed. Prosecutors had argued the share-swap ratio was engineered to cement Lee’s control of the conglomerate, but appellate judges found no evidence of unlawful trading or improper accounting. The Supreme Court said it found no legal errors in those findings. Lee’s defence team welcomed the decision, saying it confirms the legality of both the merger and Samsung BioLogics’ accounting treatment that was also under scrutiny. The ruling lifts a long-running legal overhang for South Korea’s largest company as it races to regain ground in artificial-intelligence chips and other strategic businesses. Samsung Electronics shares rose 3.1 % in Seoul trading, outpacing a broadly flat KOSPI benchmark. The Korea Enterprises Federation and other business lobbies said the verdict should allow the group to accelerate investment and hiring at a time of intensifying global technology competition. Lee, 57, still faces pressure to revive earnings after the company this month projected a 56 % drop in second-quarter operating profit. He previously spent 18 months in jail for bribery in a separate corruption case before receiving a presidential pardon in 2022. With the merger case now closed, analysts expect the chairman to take a more public role in steering Samsung’s strategy and succession planning.