South Korea’s top court Thursday upheld the acquittal of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on financial criminal charges, ending years of legal disputes over the 2015 merger between Samsung affiliates that solidified his control over the company.

Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong has been cleared of corruption charges, concluding a decade-long legal battle over his role in a 2015 merger deal. Lee, the grandson of Samsung's founder and the de facto head of the company since 2014, had been accused of using stock and accounting fraud to try and gain control of the firm.

South Korea's top court upheld on Thursday a not-guilty verdict for the chairman of Samsung Electronics Jay Y. Lee, backing two lower court rulings clearing him of accounting fraud and stock manipulation related to an $8 billion merger in 2015.