Samsung chief faces bribery arrest

SOUTH Korea’s special prosecutor sought a warrant yesterday to arrest the head of Samsung Group, the country’s largest conglomerate, accusing him of paying multimillion-dollar bribes to a friend of President Park Geun-hye.

Investigators had grilled Samsung Group chief Jay Y Lee for 22 straight hours last week as a suspect in a corruption scandal, which last month led to parliament’s impeaching Park.

The special prosecutor’s office accused Lee of paying bribes totalling 43-billion-won (R496-million) to organisations linked to Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the president who is at the centre of the scandal, to secure the 2015 merger of two affiliates and cement his control of the family business.

Lee, 48, who became de facto head of the Samsung Group after his father, Lee Kun-hee, was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014, was also accused of embezzlement and perjury, according to the prosecution’s application for an arrest warrant.

Special prosecution spokesman Lee Kyu-chul said: “The special prosecutors’ office, in [deciding] to seek an arrest warrant, determined that while the country’s [economy is] important, upholding justice takes precedence.”

He said prosecutors had evidence showing that Park and Choi had shared profits made through bribery payments.

Lee is due to appear tomorrow in the Seoul central district court, which will decide whether to grant the arrest warrant.

Samsung, whose companies generate $230-billion (R3.1-trillion) in revenue, equivalent to about 17% of South Korea’s economy, rejected the accusation that Lee paid bribes and said: “It is difficult to understand the special prosecutor’s decision.”

Prosecutors have been looking into whether Samsung’s support for foundations and a company backed by Choi was linked to the National Pension Service’s 2015 decision to support a controversial $8-billion (R109-billion) merger of Samsung C&T Corp and Cheil Industries Inc.

Samsung has acknowledged providing funds to the institutions but has repeatedly denied accusations of lobbying to push through the merger.