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S Korea court rejects arrest warrant for Samsung heir

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Seoul: A Seoul court on Thursday rejected an arrest warrant sought for Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong, it said, part of a widening probe into a corruption scandal engulfing President Park Geun-Hye.


The Seoul Central District Court turned down a request by prosecutors on Monday for Lee’s arrest on charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury.


The demand had sent shock waves through Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker and a key part of the South Korean economy where Lee became the de facto head after his father suffered a heart attack in 2014.


But the rejection dealt a blow to prosecutors’ plan to question Park— impeached by parliament last month — on bribery charges no later than early February.


It also undermined prosecutors’ move to expand investigations into several other companies that have “donated” millions of dollars to dubious foundations Park’s jailed confidante Choi Soon-Sil used for her personal benefit, Yonhap news agency said.


Lee, 48, was seen leaving a detention centre where he had awaited the decision for the previous 18 hours.


With a slight smile, wearing a long coat and tie and carrying a shopping bag, he was led out by a security guard to a barrage of camera flashes, and was driven away without responding to questions from a horde of journalists.


Investigators said Lee gave or promised some 43 billion won ($36.3 million) worth of bribes to Choi, allegedly in return for the state pension fund’s backing of a merger of two Samsung affiliates — deemed crucial for Lee’s hereditary succession at Samsung.


But the prosecutors have so far failed to come up with solid evidence, the court said.


“It is difficult to accept the reasons, need and justification” to issue the warrant, it said in a statement released by the prosecutors, citing the lack of clear-cut evidence. Samsung reportedly claimed Park, who has enormous executive power that could affect seriously the company’s future, had pressured it to make donations. Samsung lawyers said the point of contention was whether the money changed hands in return for assistance from the government. “The key point is whether any favours were given. We explained our position very clearly,” Lee’s attorney told reporters on Wednesday after the court finished questioning Lee at a hearing. — AFP


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