Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong attends court hearing for arrest warrant review over 2015 merger
- 4 years ago
'삼성 합병•승계 의혹' 이재용 영장심사...2년 4개월 만에 다시 구속 기로
Samsung Group's billionaire scion, Lee Jae-yong also known as Jay Y. Lee, is embroiled in an increasingly contentious legal dispute with the prosecutors here over allegations of bribery and corruption.
Lee arrived at the Seoul Central District Court this morning for a hearing on whether he should be sent back to jail, where he already spent about a year before going free in February 2018.
Yoon Jung-min reports.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong stood in front of press outside a local court on Monday morning. He is there to find out whether he will be arrested over his alleged involvement in crimes related to the merger of two Samsung affiliates five years ago.
Swarms of reporters, including foreign media outlets, gathered at the Seoul Central District Court to see if Lee would make a statement before entering,... but he kept silent as he walked past.
"Were you not involved in giving orders or getting briefed regarding the illegal merger?"
"It has been said there is some indirect evidence of the order, do you still deny it?"
For Monday's hearing, the Samsung heir was joined by other two Samsung executives from the group's now-dismantled Future Strategy Office. The hearing has lasted all day long except for a one-hour lunch break.
Prosecutors suspect illegalities over the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 2015.
They accuse the management of intentionally lowering the value of Samsung C&T's shares and inflating those of Cheil Industries,... to help Lee secure control of the company as he was Cheil Industries' largest shareholder.
Prosecutors suspect Lee was also involved in the matter.
The management is also accused of allegedly inflating the value of pharmaceutical company Samsung Biologics, a subsidiary of Cheil Industries.
The alleged moves are seen as a bid to cement Lee Jae-yong's power over the group and facilitate succession from his ailing father Lee Kun-hee.
Samsung claims that the 2015 merger followed due process,... and the accounting of Samsung Biologics has complied with international accounting standards.
Lee last appeared before the press at court last October on separate charges of bribery under the former Park Geun-hye administration.
And he was imprisoned in 2017 for about one year for bribery under the Park administration.
"The result of Lee's arrest warrant review will likely come out late Monday night or early Tuesday morning. It's likely to take many hours with a huge amount of investigation documents to work through.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News."
Samsung Group's billionaire scion, Lee Jae-yong also known as Jay Y. Lee, is embroiled in an increasingly contentious legal dispute with the prosecutors here over allegations of bribery and corruption.
Lee arrived at the Seoul Central District Court this morning for a hearing on whether he should be sent back to jail, where he already spent about a year before going free in February 2018.
Yoon Jung-min reports.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong stood in front of press outside a local court on Monday morning. He is there to find out whether he will be arrested over his alleged involvement in crimes related to the merger of two Samsung affiliates five years ago.
Swarms of reporters, including foreign media outlets, gathered at the Seoul Central District Court to see if Lee would make a statement before entering,... but he kept silent as he walked past.
"Were you not involved in giving orders or getting briefed regarding the illegal merger?"
"It has been said there is some indirect evidence of the order, do you still deny it?"
For Monday's hearing, the Samsung heir was joined by other two Samsung executives from the group's now-dismantled Future Strategy Office. The hearing has lasted all day long except for a one-hour lunch break.
Prosecutors suspect illegalities over the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 2015.
They accuse the management of intentionally lowering the value of Samsung C&T's shares and inflating those of Cheil Industries,... to help Lee secure control of the company as he was Cheil Industries' largest shareholder.
Prosecutors suspect Lee was also involved in the matter.
The management is also accused of allegedly inflating the value of pharmaceutical company Samsung Biologics, a subsidiary of Cheil Industries.
The alleged moves are seen as a bid to cement Lee Jae-yong's power over the group and facilitate succession from his ailing father Lee Kun-hee.
Samsung claims that the 2015 merger followed due process,... and the accounting of Samsung Biologics has complied with international accounting standards.
Lee last appeared before the press at court last October on separate charges of bribery under the former Park Geun-hye administration.
And he was imprisoned in 2017 for about one year for bribery under the Park administration.
"The result of Lee's arrest warrant review will likely come out late Monday night or early Tuesday morning. It's likely to take many hours with a huge amount of investigation documents to work through.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News."