A South Korean appeals court on Monday upheld a lower court’s ruling that acquitted Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong of financial criminal charges over a contentious merger between Samsung affiliates that cemented his grip over the biggest South Korean company.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee was found not guilty of accounting fraud and stock manipulation by a Seoul appeals court on Monday, in a ruling that could remove long-running legal risks that he has faced from criminal cases.

A Seoul appeals court on Monday upheld the acquittal of Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee in accounting fraud and stock manipulation in a