Lee Kun-hee

Samsung Electronics Co. announced a major restructuring Friday, consolidating business operations into two divisions as South Korea's most powerful and iconic corporation deals with the slowing global economy and expectations of looming red ink.

The new organization was included in an announcement of personnel changes at the company as well as at the broader Samsung Group of which it serves as flagship.

Former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee saw the suspension Wednesday of his prison sentence in a tax-evasion conviction, a move that confirmed South Koreans' view that tycoons are immune from jail.

The Seoul Central District Court convicted Lee for failing to pay tens of millions of dollars in taxes, and imposed a hefty fine of 110 billion won ($109 million) against the man who led the country's most powerful business conglomerate before he resigned in April over the allegations that included a range of fiscal crimes.

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it was consolidating some of its key businesses a week after announcing a new executive lineup.

Samsung that it would merge its home theater, DVD and Blu-ray player businesses with its global No. 1 TV business as part of what it called a restructuring plan.

It will also move its digital music player, laptop computer and set-top box businesses from its digital media business to the telecommunications network business.

Set-top boxes bring Internet movie downloads to TV sets.

Special prosecutors indicted the chairman of Samsung Group on charges of tax evasion and breach of trust Thursday, ending a probe that shook South Korea's biggest conglomerate for months.

But the independent counsel dismissed as unsubstantiated what was seen as the central allegation in the case: that Samsung created a massive slush fund by siphoning money from subsidiaries to bribe prosecutors, officials and other influential figures.

The powerful tycoon who runs South Korea's biggest business empire said Friday a corruption scandal shaking the conglomerate could result in a major management revamp -- possibly including his own resignation.

Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee made the bombshell statement after undergoing a second round of questioning by an independent counsel probing allegations of bribery and shady dealings at the group.