Prosecutors accuse Samsung chief of bribery, seek arrest

Lee Jae-yong, a vice chairman of Samsung Electronics arrives for hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea in this file image. AP Photo/Lee Jin-man

Lee Jae-yong, a vice chairman of Samsung Electronics arrives for hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea in this file image. AP Photo/Lee Jin-man

Published Jan 16, 2017

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Seoul - South Korea's special prosecutor's

office said on Monday it was seeking a warrant to arrest the

head of Samsung Group, the country's largest

conglomerate, accusing him of paying multi-million dollar bribes

to a friend of President Park Geun-hye.

Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee was questioned for 22

straight hours last week as investigators probed a corruption

scandal that resulted in parliament impeaching Park last month.

The special prosecutor's office accused Lee of paying bribes

totalling 43 billion won ($36.42 million) Choi Soon-sil, a

friend of the president who is the woman at the centre of

scandal.

Lee was also accused of embezzlement and perjury in the

prosecution's application for an arrest warrant.

Seoul's central district court said a hearing will be held

at 10:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) on Wednesday to decide whether to

approve the warrant. Samsung did not have an immediate comment.

"The special prosecutor's office, in making this decision to

seek an arrest warrant, determined that while the country's

economic conditions are important, upholding justice takes

precedence," Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for the office, told a

media briefing.

Prosecutors have been looking into whether Samsung's support

for a business and foundations backed by Park's friend Choi may

have been connected to the National Pension Service's 2015

decision to support a controversial $8 billion merger of two

Samsung Group affiliates.

NPS chairman Moon Hyung-pyo was indicted on Monday on

charges of abuse of power and giving false testimony.

Park remains in office but has been stripped of her powers

while the Constitutional Court decides whether to make her the

country's first democratically elected leader to be forced from

office.

Moon was arrested in December after acknowledging ordering

the world's third-largest pension fund to support the $8 billion

merger in 2015 while he was head of the health ministry, which

oversees the NPS.

Samsung has acknowledged providing funds to the three

institutions but has repeatedly denied accusations of lobbying

to push through the merger.

Choi is accused of colluding with Park to pressure big

businesses, including Samsung, to contribute to non-profit

foundations backing the president's initiatives.

Read also:  Samsung scion questioned for straight 22 hours

Choi, in detention and on trial on charges of abuse of power

and attempted fraud, again denied wrongdoing on Monday in an

appearance at the Constitutional Court.

She also denied having any prior knowledge of the Samsung

Group's controversial 2015 merger of two affiliates.

"Even if I knew, I could not have passed on any information

because I have no knowledge about mergers or hedge funds,

anything like that, in the first place," Choi told the court.

South Korea has been gripped by political crisis for months,

with Park impeached in December. Park has also denied

wrongdoing, though admitted carelessness in her relationship

with Choi.

If the impeachment is upheld by the Constitutional Court, an

election would be held in two months, with former U.N. Secretary

General Ban Ki-moon expected to be a candidate.

Shares in group flagship Samsung Electronics, the world's

top maker of smartphones, flatscreen TVs and memory chips,

extended losses on Monday afternoon and were down 2.3 percent.

REUTERS

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