Kuala Lumpur - Samsung's de facto head, Lee Jae-yong, was
arrested in Seoul Friday morning on charges of bribery over his alleged role in
an explosive corruption scandal that has riveted South Korea.
The 48-year-old heir apparent to the Samsung empire was taken
into custody after the courts, which had rejected a special prosecutor's first
request, granted a second request to issue a warrant for his detention.
That means that both the head of South Korea's largest
conglomerate and the country's president have fallen - at least temporarily -
in the widening scandal that revolves around allegations of bribery and
influence at the highest levels.
"The rationale for and the necessity of his arrest
is acknowledged considering the new charges and additional evidence
collected," Seoul Central District Court said in a text message sent to
reporters, according to the Yonhap News Agency.
In a one-line statement, Samsung said: "We will do
our best to ensure that the truth is revealed in future court
proceedings."
Prosecutors added charges of hiding criminal proceeds and
violating the law on transferring assets overseas to their initial charges
against Lee of bribery, embezzlement and perjury. In December, the court said
that prosecutors had not made a sufficient case for Lee's detention, an interim
victory for Samsung.
The case relates to an ever-widening political scandal
revolving around President Park Geun-hye and her secret confidante, Choi
Soon-sil, who is accused of profiting off her relationship with the president.
The National Assembly voted in December to impeach Park
over her alleged role in the case, leading her to be suspended from office
while the Constitutional Court decides whether to approve her impeachment. Its
ruling is expected early next month.
Read also: Samsung chief questioned behind closed doors in arrest warrant
Choi, who is currently on trial for bribery, coercion and
abuse of power and has denied all charges, is alleged to have extracted money
from major South Korean businesses as payment for using her connections to win favourable
treatment from the government for the companies.
Samsung - upon Lee's order - is accused of paying some
$36 million in bribes to Choi in exchange for the government's support for a
crucial merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015.
Although Lee is technically vice chairman of the group,
he has in effect been running the company for almost three years while his
ailing father lies unconscious in hospital.
Many of the allegations in the case revolve around the
Lee family's suspected efforts to keep control of the corporate behemoth.
In return for the $36 million in payments, Choi allegedly
put pressure on authorities to approve the $8 billion merger of two Samsung
units, part of a plan to strengthen the family's hold on the group, which it
controls through a complex web of cross-shareholdings, despite owning only a
tiny stake of it.
The National Pension Service, a major Samsung
shareholder, is suspected of supporting the merger on Choi's instruction. The
head of the service, a former health minister, has been indicted in relation to
the scandal.
At a parliamentary hearing in December, Lee denied being
involved in any bribery scheme but admitted that Samsung had given a $900 000
horse to Choi's daughter, an Olympic equestrian hopeful.