Nine executives at South Korea's Samsung Electronics have been ordered to pay $77m in damages for the mismangement of their firm.

The decision is a landmark court ruling, as South Korea pushes ahead with a crack down on corruption.

In addition, the patriarch of the Samsung group, Lee Kun-Hee must pay back 7.5bn won ($5.7m; �3.9m) of company funds given in bribes to the former president, Roh Tae-Woo.

It is the first time that executives and an owner of a business group have been help directly responsible for losses caused by bribery and the subsidy of affiliates.

Samsung electronics - the world's largest maker of memory chips - is part of a conglomerate, or chaebol, that makes a whole range of durable goods including cars and mobile phones.

Lasting impact

The court battle lasted more than three years and was brought by a group of minority shareholders, seeking damages for their misplaced investments.

The shady dealings of South Korea's chaebols - the most notorious of which is Daewoo - has also undermined the strength of the economy.

"Unfair transactions by chaebols that give favours to their own affiliates have been major obstacles to the development of the country's market economy," Senior Judge Kim Chang-Suk said after the ruling.

The judgement raised hopes that other bosses may stand firm against such practices.

"Company executives will from now feel pressured to exercise their own discretion in making managerial decisions, even when they are told to do this or that by chaebol owners," said Chang Ha-Sung, economist at the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy who brought the case.