Business
Jay Y. Lee, the leader of Samsung Group, was named as a suspect in a South Korean political scandal including bribery and perjury. According to a new report, he was interrogated for over 22 hours. A spokesman for the investigation team said that the South Korean special prosecutor will decide whether to seek an arrest warrant for Jay Y. Lee. The decision could be announced on Sunday.
Prosecutors are now trying to determine whether Samsung leaders paid about 30 billion won ($25 million) to businesses and foundations backed by a confidante of the country’s President Park Geun-Hye. Choi Soon-sil’s political influence was allegedly used to force the national pension service – which owned a significant stake in Samsung C&T – to vote in favor of a merger of two of Samsung’s affiliate companies.
Samsung Electronics’ headquarter was raided two months ago in connection with the political scandal. Later, Jay Y. Lee denied his role in it. The company’s annual reshuffle was postponed due to the corruption investigation, and then the company’s leader was questioned two days ago.
