Samsung chief charged with bribery and embezzlement
South Korean prosecutors brought charges against Jay Y. Lee and three other executives at the company. Those three leaders have resigned.
On Tuesday, South Korean prosecutors announced they were charging the company’s chief, Jay Y. Lee, with embezzlement, bribery and hiding assets overseas.
The alleged actions are believed to have helped him obtain and keep his role as vice chairman and de facto head of Samsung, though Lee has denied any wrongdoing.
The charges against Lee included pledging bribes to a company and organizations tied to Park’s confidant, Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of the scandal, to cement his control of the smartphones-to-biopharmaceuticals business empire.
“The Samsung Electronics Co. vice chairman allegedly directed tens of millions of dollars to entities controlled by a confidante of President Park Geun-hye, in return for government support of a 2015 merger that cemented his control of the group,” Bloomberg reported.
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