Court blocks arrest of Samsung leader in corruption case
SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean court on Thursday blocked a prosecutor’s attempt to arrest Lee Jae-yong, the leader of Samsung, saying there was not enough evidence that Lee had bribed President Park Geun-hye, in a scandal that led to her impeachment.
A justice on the Central District Court in Seoul, Cho Eui-yeon, rejected the prosecutor’s request to issue an arrest warrant, saying said it was “difficult to recognize the need” to incarcerate Lee.
Lee, a third-generation scion and vice chairman of Samsung, one of the world’s biggest conglomerates, was immediately released from a detention center outside Seoul.
South Koreans have paid keen attention to the fate of Lee, who goes by Jay Y. Lee in the West. Some analysts said his case was a test of whether the country’s relatively youthful democracy and judicial system are ready to crack down on the white-collar crimes of family-owned conglomerates.
The court’s decision is likely to anger many South Koreans who have held weekend rallies calling for Park’s ouster and the arrest of business tycoons on corruption charges.
Samsung welcomed the court’s decision. For now, the ruling allows Lee to continue to lead Samsung. It dealt a blow to the special prosecutor who had tried to build a bribery case against Lee and Park.
Lee, 48, was accused of paying $36 million to Park’s secretive confidante, Choi Soon-sil. The special prosecutor and Lee’s lawyers have been arguing over how to characterize the money.
In November, state prosecutors indicted Choi on extortion charges, saying she leveraged her connections with Park to coerce Samsung and scores of other big businesses to contribute tens of millions of dollars to two foundations Choi controlled or to companies run by her or her associates.