14 DAY TRIAL // South Korean prosecutors have summoned vice chairman Lee Jae-yong, Samsung's heir, to be questioned as suspect in a bribery probe, following a huge political scandal that resulted in the impeachment of the country's president.
The prosecutors are trying to probe the fact that Samsung's heir has bribed a confidante of President Park Geun-hye to win some favors. The confidante has since been jailed and could be the informant the prosecutors needed to probe these bribery allegations.
The favors asked by Samsung possibly included getting the government's support on a controversial merger of the South Korean company in 2015, which was opposed by minority shareholders, said Hong Jong-seok, a spokesman for the special prosecutor team investigating the scandal.
According to the prosecutors, Samsung's heir and other members of his family were the main beneficiaries of the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, which also allowed Lee Jae-yong to further increase control over Samsung Electronics without having to spend any of his money to buy shares.
Lee Jae-yong may face multiple charges including perjury
Another suspect in the case, the former health minister in charge of overseeing the government-controlled national pension fund, was arrested last year, ABCNews reports.
The pension fund he's overseeing is the major shareholder in Samsung C&T, so he voted for the merger, even though all advisers recommended voting against it.
The accusations Lee Jae-yong will face this week in front of the prosecutors include corporate funds transferred by Samsung Group to Choi Soon-sil, the President's jailed confidante, as well as buying expensive horses for her daughter, who's also part of the national dressage team.
Last month, Lee Jae-yong said at a public hearing that he was not aware of the purchase of costly horses for Choi's daughter and he also denied that Samsung tried to win any favors through corporate funds.
Furthermore, prosecutors recommended lawmakers to file a complaint against Lee for alleged perjury at the hearing. A parliamentary official has said recently that lawmakers have already received the request and will review it soon.