South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday sought a 12-year jail term for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee on appeal after a lower court sentenced him to five years in August for bribery in a case that rocked the country.

The Seoul High Court is expected to rule on the case in late January. Lee, the 49-year-old heir to one of the world's biggest corporate empires, has been detained since February on charges of corruption.

The heir to South Korea's Samsung Group, convicted of bribing the country's former President Park Geun-hye, on Wednesday denied allegations of wrongdoing as the appeals trial of his five-year jail term for corruption neared its end.

The court decided the bribe helped Lee strengthen his control of Samsung Electronics, the crown jewel in the conglomerate and one of the world's top technology firms.

Lee denied this charge and also denied recent allegations that he had met Park one-on-one four times, instead of the previously disclosed three times.

The Seoul High Court is expected to rule on the appeal in late January. Whichever side loses could take the case to the Supreme Court, the final court of appeal in South Korea.