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Jay Y. Lee, Samsung Electronics vice chairman and heir to Samsung Group, was arrested in South Korea today morning on bribery charges, embezzlement and perjury in connection with South Korea’s political corruption.
Lee has been accused of bribing a close friend of South Korea’s impeached president, Park Guen-bye to secure support from the government to help him reach the top of Samsung group. The Korean company has also been accused of paying bribes upwards of 43 billion won to two firms operated by Choi, a close friend of South Korea’s first female president Park.
While Jay Y. Lee is the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, he has been acting as the head of the company since his father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack in 2014.
A special investigation team has sought for an arrest warrant against Lee earlier, but the request was turned down due to the lack of proper evidence. This time around, though, the investigation team provided proper evidence for new criminal charges against Lee that helped them secure an arrest warrant against the acting Samsung head.
Samsung has denied any wrongdoings and has said in its statement that it has not paid any bribes or asked for any favors from the president.
[Via The Guardian]
