The appeals case comes 10 months after Lee and 13 former Samsung executives were originally acquitted of manipulating stock prices and committing accounting fraud in connection with the merger of Samsung subsidiaries in 2015,

South Korean prosecutors have requested a five-year jail term for Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee, amid an appeal regarding his role in the contentious merger of two Samsung affiliates. The case raises doubts over Lee's leadership as Samsung faces declining profits and stock prices.

South Korean prosecutors requested on Monday a five-year jail term for Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee over actions in a controversial merger of affiliates that helped solidify his control in a case being tried at an appeals court.

South Korean prosecutors have requested a five-year prison sentence for Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee. The case, tried at an appeals court, revisits allegations surrounding a controversial merger of Samsung affiliates that prosecutors argue bolstered Lee’s control over the conglomerate at the expense of minority shareholders.

Prosecutors on Monday demanded a five-year prison sentence for Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong in an appeal against a court decision that acquitted the chairman over the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates.

Prosecutors have called for a five-year prison sentence and a fine of 500 million won ($380,000) for Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong in his appellate trial over allegations of illegal succession of management control.