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South Korea court rejects arrest of Samsung heir Jay Y Lee

SEOUL — A court in South Korea turned down prosecutors’ request to arrest Samsung Group’s Jay Y Lee on alleged bribery, perjury and embezzlement, letting him stay in place atop the country’s most powerful company while they continue their investigation.

Jay Y Lee leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, Jan 18, 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Jay Y Lee leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, Jan 18, 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

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SEOUL — A court in South Korea turned down prosecutors’ request to arrest Samsung Group’s Jay Y Lee on alleged bribery, perjury and embezzlement, letting him stay in place atop the country’s most powerful company while they continue their investigation.

There wasn’t enough reason or necessity to justify the arrest, Seoul Central District Court Judge Cho Eui-yeon said in a statement on Thursday morning (Jan 19) in South Korea.

The de facto head of the Samsung Group and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics is suspected of providing tens of millions of dollars to benefit a close friend of South Korean President Park Geun-hye in exchange for approval of a merger between two Samsung affiliates. The deal helped Lee, 48, consolidate control over the sprawling conglomerate founded by his grandfather.

Some of the evidence prosecutors had reviewed included e-mails from a tablet PC that they believe belongs to Choi Soon-sil, Ms Park’s confidante. Prosecutors said last week that one e-mail indicates Choi received funds from Samsung. The court’s decision indicates that the e-mails probably stopped short of saying anything explicit, said Mr Troy Stangarone, senior director for congressional affairs and trade at the Korea Economic Institute of America in Washington.

“While the prosecutors are still going to be looking into things, and this doesn’t necessarily close the case, this is definitely the outcome Samsung was looking for,” he said. “At this point, now that the court has rejected the arrest warrant, there’s no reason to not proceed with the succession.”

Samsung has denied that it provided financial aid in return for any favours. The decision lets Lee avoid spending weeks or months in jail and proceed with plans to secure his leadership atop the country’s biggest company, after his father was incapacitated by a heart attack two years ago. Samsung is also seeking to recover from last year’s botched debut of the Note 7, a smartphone that was discontinued after it showed a tendency to catch fire and explode.

The Samsung probe is part of a broader investigation into contributions that dozens of Korean companies gave to Choi. The scandal has rocked South Korea with millions of people taking to the streets in protest. President Park has been impeached and her powers suspended. A separate constitutional court will determine whether she is ultimately removed from office, another tumultuous chapter for a country that became a full-fledged democracy in 1987.

“We appreciate the fact that the merits of this case can now be determined without the need for detention,” Samsung said in a statement.

When he testified at a parliamentary hearing in December, Lee said he never ordered donations to be made in return for preferential measures and rejected allegations he received wrongful government support to push through the merger. Still, Lee, who has been put under a travel ban, confirmed his private meetings with Park and that Samsung had provided a horse worth 1 billion won (S$1.2 million) that was used for equestrian lessons by Choi’s daughter. BLOOMBERG

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