Samsung chief Jay Lee charged with bribery

TIL Desk/World/Seoul-South Korean prosecutors charged Samsung Group chief Jay Y Lee with bribery and embezzlement on Tuesday as the top conglomerate announced the dismantling of its corporate strategy office, the latest developments in a graft scandal that has rocked the country.

Jay Y Lee, 48, was arrested on February 17 over his alleged role in the corruption scandal involving impeached President Park Geun-hye, dealing a fresh blow to the standard-bearer for Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

The special prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday, the last day of its investigation, that it had charged Lee, third-generation leader of the tech giant “chaebol”, and four other executives with bribery and embezzlement.

The charges against Lee included pledging bribes to a company and organisations tied to Park’s confidant, Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the centre of the scandal, to cement his control of the smartphones-to-biopharmaceuticals business empire. “We apologise for the social controversy and distress we have caused,” Samsung Group Executive Vice-President Lee June told reporters.