A South Korean court on Thursday refused to issue an arrest warrant for Samsung chief Jay Y Lee, citing insufficient reasons. Lee has been accused of embezzlement, perjury and paying bribes worth millions to President Park Geun-hye’s friend, who is at the centre of an extortion scandal. After reviewing evidence in the matter for 18 hours, the judge at Seoul central district court said, “[It was] difficult to acknowledge the necessity and substantiality of an arrest at the current stage”.
On Monday, South Korea’s Special Prosecutor’s Office had sought an arrest warrant against Jay Lee, alleging him of paying bribes worth 43 billion won (more than Rs 200 crore) to organisations with links to Choi Soon-sil, the president’s long-time friend and confidante. He had allegedly paid bribes to ensure the merger of two company affiliates as well as his control of the family business – he became the de facto head of the Samsung Group after his father was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014.
The allegations against the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics are part of a bigger corruption scandal for which the South Korean Parliament had impeached President Park Geun-Hye on December 9. She was accused of colluding with Choi Soon-sil to extort money in the form of donations from South Korean companies.
Samsung has consistently denied the accusations against their chief. “[The] merits of this case can now be determined without the need for detention,” South Korea’s largest conglomerate said in a statement. Although the company admitted that it made the payments, it denied expecting any favour in return, according to BBC.
The special prosecutor’s office said it would continue its investigation. Special prosecution spokesperson Lee Kyu-chul told The Guardian that they “deeply regretted” the court’s ruling. The rival Democratic Party also accused the court of being too lenient on Lee. “The president was impeached and Choi Soon-sil was arrested ... but Samsung is still fine,” said the party in a statement. Party MPs told BBC said the decision was “regrettable”.
Meanwhile, shares of Samsung Group soared after the the court’s ruling. Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T shares jumped 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively, reported Reuters.
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