South Korea’s special prosecutors are preparing a warrant for the arrest of Samsung vice-chairman Jay Y. Lee, on allegations that include bribery and embezzlement, Bloomberg reported.
Lee was set to take over the company from his father, chairman Lee Kun-hee. He is accused of participating in payments that Samsung made to a a close friend of South Korean President Park Geun-hye in exchange for government support in the company’s succession planning. A court still has to approve the warrant, which was announced by prosecutors in a briefing on 16 January. A hearing is scheduled for 18 January.
A special prosecution team was established in December to investigate whether Samsung and other chaebol business groups contributed money to Choi Soon-sil, the Park confidant, in exchange for political favours. President Park has been already impeached and her powers suspended. The total amount of bribes, including promised funds and money embezzled, is alleged at KRW 43 billion (USD 36 million), according to the prosecutor’s office.
Samsung denied the company provided financial aid in return for any favors. "We can’t accept the prosecutor’s argument that we made illegal requests associated with the merger and management succession," Samsung said in a statement.
