In the past, I have looked at Samsung's bribery scandal and allegations that Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee set up a $225 million slush fund to buy art for his art museum director wife.

The good news for South Korea's biggest industrial conglomerate is that it's been cleared of bribery allegations.

The bad news is that the chairman has been indicted for tax evasion. More from Bloomberg. That sounds serious but there's every chance he'll get off lightly.

As the Korean press reports, it's more a "slap on the wrist", repeating the old pattern of corporate scandals in Korea.

"When a scandal engulfs a conglomerate, its chief appears for questioning with much attention and is indicted without detention. At the trial, the chief is usually found guilty, but given a lenient sentence with judges saying the chief is too important to go to jail. Later, the chief publicly apologizes for wrongdoing and continues to run the conglomerate."

Samsung is so big and powerful in Korea that this case is likely to sink without a trace.