This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Korea’s Richest 2023. See the full list here.

For Jay Y. Lee, 2022 was a watershed that saw him taking the reins of electronics giant Samsung Electronics after years-long legal battles, imprisonment and a presidential pardon. The move came at a critical time for the world’s biggest memory chipmaker as demand for semiconductors dwindled on slowing global growth and rising inflation.

Operating profit last year fell 16% to 43.4 trillion won ($32.9 billion) year-on-year as demand for semiconductors weakened faster than expected, plunging nearly 70% in the fourth quarter alone, according to the company’s Jan. 31 regulatory filing. Lee saw his wealth drop to $8 billion, but remained at No. 2 on the list of Korea’s 50 richest.

Lee was imprisoned twice in recent years for bribing South Korea’s then President Park Geun-hye. In 2021, he was paroled after serving 18 months of a 30-month sentence tied to the bribery conviction, which included a five-year employment ban. Then in August, Lee received a presidential pardon that cleared the 2017 conviction from his record.

In October, Lee became the executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, two years after his father, who had helmed Samsung group, the country’s biggest conglomerate, passed away. Lee is still on trial in a separate case, charged with accounting fraud and stock price manipulation in relation to a 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates that cemented his ownership of the conglomerate. He has denied the charges; Samsung declined to comment.

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Weak chip demand hasn’t stopped the company from eying new investments with a recovery expected in the second half. The electronics giant in February borrowed 20 trillion won from its affiliate Samsung Display to use for working capital. In May, Samsung announced a five-year plan to spend 450 trillion won by 2026 to accelerate development of semiconductor, biopharmaceutical and other next-generation technologies to fuel growth. Under the plan, the group will create 80,000 new jobs.