Lee faced charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury. However, the court said "it is hard to find a reason, necessity and appropriateness for the arrest at the current stage", pointing out that key issues, such as whether the money was for any kind of reciprocal favors, are still debated.
After the request for the warrant was rejected, Lee left a detention center in Uiwang, south of Seoul, where he stayed for some 14 hours pending the court's decision. He declined to comment to reporters. Samsung has denied any involvement in the bribery scandal.
The Korean prosecution team said it plans to continue its investigation, and may seek the arrest warrant again or investigate Lee without detention. They suspect that Lee gave or promised some KRW 43 billion (USD 36.3 million) worth of bribes to Park's jailed friend Choi Soon-sil in return for the state-run pension fund's backing of a merger of two Samsung affiliates.The merger was seen as critical for the smooth succession of Lee to the top of the group. Samsung's other vice-chair Choi Gee-sung is also under investigation.
