SEOUL: South Korea’s former health minister was arrested under a court order Saturday (Dec 31) in a widening probe to determine whether impeached President Park Geun-Hye took bribes from businesses including Samsung.
Moon Hyung-Pyo, who is now head of the National Pension Service (NPS), admitted to pressuring the state-run fund to back a controversial merger of two Samsung units when he served as health minister from December 2013 to August 2015.
The Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant for his arrest after reviewing evidence provided by a special prosecutor, Yonhap news agency said.
Moon was taken into emergency detention Wednesday on allegations that he pressured the fund to vote in favour of the merger between Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T last year.
The acquisition was seen as a crucial step to ensure a smooth father-to-son power transfer to Lee Jae-Yong, scion of Samsung’s founding family.
