Samsung boss to be arrested

This video from South Korea says about itself:

Arrest warrant issued for Samsung heir apparent Lee Jae-yong on bribery, perjury charges

15 January 2017

We begin with the breaking news coming from the independent counsel team…

Prosecutors have just issued an arrest warrant for Samsung heir apparent Lee Jae-yong… on charges of bribery and perjury.

Warrant issued for Samsung heir apparent Lee Jae-yong on bribery, perjury charges

Lee is the first among the several economic bigwigs suspected of involvement in this sensational corruption scandal for whom an arrest warrant was issued by the team.

Lee is accused of providing President Park Geun-hye‘s confidante Choi Soon-sil and her family with millions of dollars… in exchange for political support for a merger of two Samsung affiliates deemed critical to finalizing his succession to the top of the nation’s biggest business group.

National Pension Service chief Moon Hyung-pyo indicted on charges of power abuse, perjury

Also today, the head of Korea’s National Pension Service and former health minister Moon Hyung-pyo was indicted on charges of abuse of power and perjury.

Moon was arrested late last month for pressuring the NPS to support the controversial merger, which is believed to have cost the NPS millions of dollars in losses but empowered Lee Jae-yong.

From Al Jazeera today:

Prosecutors seek arrest of Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong

Lee Jae-yong had denied allegations of bribery involving embattled President Park Geun-hye and her personal advisor.

South Korean prosecutors are seeking the arrest of Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong over allegations of bribery involving President Park Geun-hye.

In a statement on Monday, prosecutors investigating the scandal said they asked a Seoul court to issue an arrest warrant for Lee, the son of the Samsung group chairman Lee Kun-hee.

Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from Seoul, said charges against Lee include bribery, embezzlement and perjury.

“The spokesman [of the prosecution] said the economic impact of all this is important, but justice is more important,” our correspondent reported.

“That is a sign that there is a recognition of just how big an entity Samsung is, it’s revenues worth about fifth of South Korea’s GDP. So obviously they weigh this very carefully, before deciding to move ahead and seek the arrest of such a vital part of South Korea’s economy.”

The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that a court will hold a hearing on Wednesday to review the arrest warrant.

Samsung, South Korea’s largest business group, has acknowledged making contributions to two foundations as well as a consulting firm linked to Choi Soon-sil, a close confidante of the embattled South Korean leader who is also facing corruption charges.

At a December parliament hearing, Lee denied that the company paid bribes to pave the way for a merger in 2015.

Samsung made the biggest contributions of $16.8m to Choi’s foundations.

Samsung is separately accused of funnelling millions of dollars to Choi to bankroll her daughter’s equestrian training in Germany.

Prosecutors said the donations were made in exchange for government favours, allegations that Lee and Choi have denied.

President Park could become South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to leave office early after parliament voted in December to impeach her over the corruption scandal, a decision that must be approved or overturned by the Constitutional Court.

SOUTH KOREAN SPECIAL PROSECUTOR WANTS A WARRANT FOR THE HEAD OF SAMSUNG “South Korea’s special prosecutor on Monday sought a warrant to arrest the head of Samsung Group [SAGR.UL], the country’s largest conglomerate, accusing him of paying multi-million dollar bribes to a friend of President Park Geun-hye.” [Reuters]