Albuquerque Journal

Court approves arrest of Samsung executive

Son of chairman accused of bribery

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SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean court approved on Friday the arrest of a billionair­e heir to Samsung accused of bribery and other charges in connection to a massive corruption scandal, a stunning decline for the princeling of South Korea’s richest family.

The Seoul Central District Court’s decision to issue a warrant to arrest Lee Jae-yong, 48, a vice chairman at Samsung Electronic­s and the only son of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

The arrest of Samsung’s de facto leader will likely shock the business community and cheer the critics of chaebol, the South Korean family-controlled business conglomera­tes that dominate the economy.

It was seen as a test of the country’s judicial system that in the past had been lenient toward the powerful business elite families at chaebol for their white-collar crimes, citing their contributi­ons to the national economy.

The court said additional evidence showed there were enough reasons to take Lee into custody. Prosecutor­s can detain him for up to 20 days before formally indicting him.

The court dismissed prosecutor­s’ request to arrest Park Sang-jin, a president at Samsung Electronic­s overseeing external relations, saying that it was difficult to justify Park’s arrest given his position and role within the company.

Lee was waiting for the decision at a detention center near Seoul overnight after a closed-door court hearing that lasted more than seven hours on Thursday. He was taken into custody while Park was released. Local media reported that Lee was sent to solitary confinemen­t. The detention center declined to comment, saying it cannot give out private details.

Samsung said it will continue to defend itself in court.

“We will do our best to ensure that the truth is revealed in future court proceeding­s,” it said in a statement.

Lee avoided arrest last month when the court said prosecutor­s did not have enough evidence. The special prosecutio­n team, probing the influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachmen­t of the country’s president, said they had gathered more evidence to strengthen their case and made a second request.

The 48-year-old Lee was being groomed to succeed his father at the top of South Korea’s largest business empire, which was founded by his grandfathe­r. He had taken a bigger leadership role in recent years after the elder Lee fell ill in 2014. Though the ailing Samsung chairman was convicted before, the 75-year-old has never spent time in prison.

Prosecutor­s accused Lee of giving bribes worth $36 million to President Park Geunhye and her close friend Choi Soon-sil to win government favors for a smooth company leadership transition.

They are also investigat­ing Lee on allegation­s of embezzleme­nt of Samsung funds, hiding assets overseas and lying under oath during a parliament­ary hearing.

The court decision could also help the prosecutio­n team bring bribery charges against President Park Geun-hye, whose powers were suspended in December by parliament.

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