S. KOREA

Prosecutors on Friday arrested the de facto head of South Korea’s largest conglomerate, Samsung, on bribery and other charges related to the political corruption scandal that has already triggered the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye. In a fresh blow to the image of the country’s biggest business group, a district court cited new evidence in approving the arrest warrant against vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong, who oversees the shipbuilding-to-smartphones conglomerate in the absence of his ailing father. Among other allegations, Lee is accused of paying nearly US$40 million in bribes to a confidante of Park to secure policy favours. Lee will remain in custody as he awaits a trial that is expected to begin within a few months.