SEOUL, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee is visiting North America in his first high-profile trip after serving jail time for bribery, with a decision imminent on Samsung's planned $17 billion U.S. chip plant.

Lee left Seoul on Sunday and his trip to Canada and the United States is expected to coincide with a decision on the location of the new plant, Yonhap and other local media said.

"I am set to meet many U.S. partners," Lee told reporters before his flight on Sunday, without elaborating.

He said he also expected to visit Boston, where COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna's headquarters are located.

Last month, South Korea granted emergency use approval https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL4N2RM0VP for Moderna's vaccine produced by drugmaker Samsung BioLogics , which has a "fill and finish" deal with Moderna.

Lee was convicted in January of bribery and embezzlement and sentenced to 30 months in jail - including a year served before his sentencing. Upon his parole in August, the presidential office said it expected Lee will help the country procure "semiconductors and vaccines https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/samsung-leader-jay-y-lee-released-prison-parole-2021-08-13 ".

A site in Texas' Williamson County, near the city of Taylor, is the frontrunner among various sites Samsung has been considering for the new chip plant https://www.reuters.com/technology/samsung-electronics-close-finalising-17-bln-texas-chip-plant-sources-2021-09-29 that is set to make advanced logic chips, sources previously told Reuters.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; editing by Richard Pullin)