South Korean prosecutors again seek arrest of Samsung heir

February 15, 2017 | 09:52

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SEOUL: Prosecutors said Tuesday (Feb 14) they would make a second attempt to arrest the de facto head of South Korean giant Samsung over a corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye.

Samsung Electronics vice chairman and the son of Samsung group chairman Lee Kun-Hee, Lee Jae-Yong (C). (Photo: AFP/AHN Young-Joon)

Lee Jae-Yong, Samsung Electronics vice chairman and the son of Samsung group chairman Lee Kun-Hee, has been quizzed multiple times over his alleged role in the scandal that has rocked the nation.

Lee narrowly avoided being formally arrested last month when prosecutors accused him of bribing Park's confidante to the tune of nearly US$40 million.

A Seoul court rejected the arrest warrant on grounds of insufficient evidence.

But prosecutors probing the scandal summoned Lee again on Monday morning, saying they discovered additional evidence in recent weeks, and released him after marathon questioning that dragged on past midnight.

"We have requested an arrest warrant on Lee Jae-Yong," prosecutors said Tuesday without elaborating.

The scandal centres on Park's confidante Choi Soon-Sil, who is accused of using her ties to the president to force local firms to "donate" nearly $70 million to two non-profit foundations which Choi allegedly used for personal gain.

Samsung was the single biggest donor to the foundations. It is accused of separately giving millions of euros to Choi and her daughter in a bid to secure policy favours from Park in return.

Park has been named as an accomplice in the scandal. She is also accused of letting Choi, who has no title or security clearance, handle a wide range of state affairs including the nomination of top officials.

Lee - who has effectively taken the helm of the group since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014 - is described as a key figure in the scandal.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Samsung's payments to Choi were aimed at securing state approval for the controversial merger of two Samsung units in 2015 - seen as a key step towards ensuring a smooth power transfer to Lee from his father.

The merger was opposed by many investors who said it wilfully unvalued the shares of one of the firms. But it went through after Seoul's state pension fund - a major Samsung shareholder - approved it.