The heir to the Samsung empire, Lee Jae Yong, has been acquitted by a court of charges of share price manipulation and other financial offences. The district court in Seoul handed down its judgement on Monday in a trial related to the controversial merger nine years ago of two subsidiaries of South Korea’s largest company, Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries. According to reports by South Korean broadcasters, the judgement stated that no illegal activities could be proven against 55-year-old Lee. Critics saw the merger as a tactic intended to strengthen the Samsung founding family. Lee is the gra…