Samsung heir now suspect in corruption case
THE Samsung heir has become a criminal suspect in a widening probe into the corruption and influence-peddling scandal engulfing impeached South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, prosecutors said yesterday.
Lee Jae-Yong, vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics and the son of Samsung Group chairman Lee KunHee, would be quizzed as a suspect in connection with bribery, prosecutors said.
The affair centres on Park’s secret confidante Choi Soon-Sil, who is accused of using her ties to Park to coerce top firms into “donating” tens of millions of dollars to two non- profit foundations which Choi then used as her personal ATMs.
Samsung was the biggest contributor to the foundations.
It is also accused of giving millions of euros to Choi to bankroll her daughter’s equestrian training in Germany to curry favour.
Prosecutors have for months questioned Lee Jae-Yong and other senior Samsung officials.
The officials reportedly argued that although they had been coerced to offer money, they had sought no favours in return, so the payments were not a bribe.
Prosecutors’ spokesman Lee Kyu-Chul said they had left open the possibility of formally arresting the Samsung heir later.
A Samsung Group spokeswoman declined to comment.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Samsung bribed Choi to win state approval for a controversial merger it sought last year.
The merger of two Samsung group units – Cheil Industries and Samsung C& T – was seen as a crucial step towards ensuring a smooth third-generation power transfer to Lee Jae-Yong.
It was criticised by many, who said it wilfully undervalued Samsung C& T’s stocks, but the National Pension Service (NPS) – a major Samsung shareholder – voted in favour of the deal and it eventually went through.
Prosecutors have raided multiple Samsung offices as well as the NPS.
The fund is overseen by the welfare ministry.
A former welfare minister was arrested last month for allegedly pressuring NPS officials to vote in favour of the Samsung deal.
Last month, Lee Jae-Yong told a parliamentary hearing he was unaware of Samsung’s involvement in funding Choi’s daughter’s lavish life and denied that his company was seeking to win government favours.
Prosecutors asked parliament yesterday to file a complaint against Lee Jae-Yong for giving false testimony at the hearing.
The prosecutor team also revealed what could become key evidence – Choi’s tablet PC – which contains e-mails between her and Samsung.
Park, who is accused of colluding with Choi to extract money from the firms, was impeached by parliament last month, but denies any criminal wrongdoing.