Home GRASP/Korea South Korea seeks arrest of Samsung heir on bribery charges

South Korea seeks arrest of Samsung heir on bribery charges

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NewsHubSouth Korea’s special prosecutor on Monday sought an arrest warrant for Samsung Electronics heir apparent Lee Jae-yong on bribery charges, linking the executive into the country’s deepening political scandal and raising potential economic uncertainty for the tech giant.
The move came after investigators questioned the executive of the world’s largest smartphone maker last week on suspicion he paid an estimated $36 million in bribes to organizations tied to Choi Soon-sil, a friend of recently impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye and a key figure in the scandal, according to the Korea Times and other media reports.
The executive, who’s known as Jay Y. Lee in the West, is also under suspicion of embezzlement and perjury, according to reports, which cited the arrest warrant application.
At least in the short term, the prosecutorial action could raise questions about the corporate leadership of Samsung, which separately has struggled to determine the problem responsible for causing the company’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to burst into flames. The issue forced the company to issue a recall that’s expected to cost billions of dollars.

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