Samsung’s de-facto head Jay Y. Lee can now breathe a sigh of relief. Post his prolonged twenty-two hour long questioning a couple days ago, the prosecutor filed for a warrant to arrest the company’s head. To his and Samsung’s relief, the court has dismissed the said warrant, that alleged him with bribery and embezzlement charges. FYI, it is the very same corruption scandal which has led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.
This development comes as a breath of fresh air for Samsung. The Korean giant has been faced with leadership issues since Lee’s father, who founded the company suffered a heart attack back in 2014. Since then, he had a hands-on role within the company and has recently not only joined the director board. But instead, Lee has assumed the leadership position to drive Samsung’s growth, in wake of his father illness.
The said ruling by Seoul Central District Court has currently put to rest any possibility of Lee’s arrest. Judge Cho Eui-yeon voiced his decision against the arrest saying that it isn’t a necessary action at the moment. Commenting on his decision, Cho said,
After reviewing the contents and the process of the investigation so far … it is difficult to acknowledge the necessity and substantiality of an arrest at the current stage.
Post the court’s decision, Samsung’s de-facto head left the Seoul Detention Centre to finally return home. He was being held overnight as the court mulled over the decision of his arrest. He left the location early morning and kept completely mum about the proceedings. The Korean giant, on the other hand, appreciates the court’s decision. It has issued the following statement,
We appreciate the fact that the merits of this case can now be determined without the need for detention.
Though the judge might have turned down special clearance for the arrest warrant but he didn’t exonerate Lee. Thus, this still leaves jail time as a plausible option for the prosecutors to pursue. And they are now willing to follow the same until they find some dirt to drag Lee back to court. But they will potentially not file for another warrant request for his arrest, says a former prosecutor. He is of the opinion that they’ve already gathered the evidence they could. The heir might face indictment but without detention.
Post the decision, the prosecutor aired his views as under,
We will consider necessary measures and continue with the investigation without wavering.
The accusations against Samsung’s leader stems from his involvement with President Park and their friends. He was alleged of transferring company funds into their friend Choi Soon-sil’s account. The prosecutor believes Lee has paid more than 43 billion won ($36.70 million) to organizations linked to this friend. He is also said to be involved in the merger of two affiliates to cement his control of the family business.
Also, Samsung has come under fire for donating 20.4 billion to two non-profit foundations in recent times. Is something wrong with public welfare activities? Well, the prosecutors seem to think so because both of these organisations are linked to Choi. This hubbub started when South Korean authorities raided the company’s Seoul headquarter in search of evidence against them.
