SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korea’s special prosecutor’s office said on Monday (January 16) 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 center of scandal.
Lee was also accused of embezzlement and perjury in the prosecution’s application for an arrest warrant.
“The special prosecution has requested an arrest warrant for vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Jay Y. Lee on charges of bribery, embezzlement of additional punishment for certain economic crimes, and violating act of dealing with testimony and appraisal in the National Assembly,” said Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for the office, told a media briefing.
Seoul’s central district court said a hearing will be held at 10:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) on Wednesday (January 18) 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,” the spokesman Lee Kyu-chul added.
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.
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 Soon-sil.
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.
