AsianFin -- South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a not guilty verdict for Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee, affirming two lower court rulings that acquitted him of accounting fraud and stock manipulation tied to an $8 billion merger in 2015, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The decision puts an end to a years-long legal saga and lifts a major cloud over Lee as Samsung accelerates efforts to compete in the global race for advanced AI chips.