If you’re up to date with world current events the past months, then you’ve probably heard and read about the national corruption scandal in South Korea, resulting in the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye last December. “The anti-corruption issue has already become a “global standard issue” in the worldwide community with the European Union and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the major advanced economies the USA are enacting anti-corruption legislation to impose strong regulations”, explained Lee Sang-hak, a director at Transparency worldwide Korea. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. Samsung’s chief said he was forced to make those contributions to entities controlled by Choi, including K-Sports and the Mir foundation. Park is still officially in office and is waiting to see whether the Constitutional Court will overrule that decision and leave her in power, which doesn’t seem likely to happen. Samsung shares, which have been near record highs, fell 2.1 percent to 1,833,000 won at the close in Seoul.
Advertisement
The special prosecutor, Park Young-soo, said the money represented bribes from Samsung, adding that Lee embezzled some of it from his companies. Lee has been at the helm of the Samsung Group since 2014, when Lee Kun-Hee senior, his father, passed away.
Before he was interrogated by lawmakers last month on national TV during the scandal investigation, Lee’s first formal public speech was in 2015, when he apologized for a Samsung hospital’s role in the spread of a contagious disease.
Lee faces embezzlement under the special economic crime law, due to the amount of the alleged bribe of $40 million. The legal team also aserted Lee’s arrest would have caused a management vacuum, eventually bringing a potentially negative impact on the Korean economy. “We are sure that the court will make a wise decision”.
The investigation jeopardizes Mr. Lee Jae-yong has effectively run Samsung for the past three years, after his father suffered a heart attack.
Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, is already reeling from the global debacle over its Galaxy Note 7, which was recalled after some devices caught fire.
Prosecutors said Moon, who now heads the pension fund, acted on behalf of President Park, who ordered him to ensure the Samsung merger went smoothly.
Conglomerates like Samsung, known as chaebol, dominate the Asian country’s economy, jobs and investment.
Mr. Lee told lawmakers during testimony previous year that he met privately with Ms. Park at least twice around the time of the 2015 merger, but denied the bribery allegations.
South Korean prosecutors say the company agreed to pay more than $18 million to a company Choi set up to finance equestrian training of her daughter in Germany.
Many external investors opposed the deal, saying it wilfully undervalued one of the firms involved.
Advertisement
Moon Hyung-pyo, the chairman of the pension fund, was indicted today on charges that he illegally pressured the fund to back that merger when he was South Korea’s health and welfare minister.
