April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The arrest of Lee Jae-yong, the heir apparent of the nation’s largest conglomerate Samsung Group, is a crucial step for special prosecutors before they move on to the central figure of the extensive influence-peddling scandal -- President Park Geun-hye.

The key point is to prove whether the renowned businessman indeed offered 44 billion won (US$37 million) in bribes the president’s confidante Choi Soon-sil, in exchange for the president’s assistance in his corporate succession.

 

Chung Hee-jo/The Korea Herald

Lee arrived at the Seoul Central District Court on Jan.18 morning with independent counsel officials to face questioning prior to the court’s issuance of his arrest warrant.

Special prosecutors on Jan.16 requested for Lee’s arrest warrant on charges of offering bribes, embezzling and giving false testimonies during a parliamentary hearing.

Backing up the bribery charge is circumstantial evidence that Samsung Group, under Lee’s direct order, offered funds worth 7.8 billion won to Choi’s equestrian daughter Chung Yoo-ra and 1.6 billion won to an organization affiliated with Chung.

The conglomerate also donated 20.4 billion won to the K-Sports and Mir foundations effectively run by Choi.

Special prosecutors claimed that the amount of economic benefits offered or promised to Choi and Chung totaled 43 billion won.

The massive sum, according to investigators, was paid in exchange for President Park’s exercise of power to have the National Pension Service consent to a merger between the group’s two affiliates -- Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.

The merger of the two was considered a crucial step in increasing Lee’s equity ratio in the group, therefore, facilitating his succession of power in the company. The NPS was at the time the largest shareholder of Samsung C&T, holding influence over the deal which led to hundreds of billions in losses for the public corporation.

The currently suspended president is also suspected of having delivered documents to Lee during their close-door meetings, asking the Samsung chief to offer support to Choi’s daughter Chung in her equestrian activities and Choi’s niece Jang Si-ho’s sports businesses.

The backscratching relationship between the Samsung chief and Choi seems to be gainining credence, but investigators still have to prove President Park’s involvement. 

“We have secured substantial evidence to prove the complicity between President Park and Choi,” said Lee Kyu-chul, spokesperson for the independent counsel on Jan.16.

“We have proven to a certain extent that the two share common economic interests in various ways.”

Based on such logic, the bribery allegation involving Lee and Choi may eventually lead back to the incumbent president’s involvement.

Though the final decision on Lee’s alleged wrongdoing is to be made by the court, the issuance of an arrest warrant for the top businessman is deemed a litmus test for the special prosecutors’ achievements so far.

Should the court agree to issue the warrant, the president will have lesser grounds to further shun the independent counsel investigation.

Park, despite her earlier vows to “respond faithfully to the independent counsel’s investigation,” has so far refused to show up in person, continuously denying all the charges raised against her.

But Lee’s arrest, if it is approved by the court, could help the investigators gain new momentum and could lead to them questioning the president in person. 

“I believe that (the face-to-face questioning of the president) should take place no later than early February,” said spokesperson Lee on Jan.17.

As this was the first time that he mentioned a timeline, speculation mounted that investigators are almost fully equipped with evidence to drive Park into a corner.

For similar reasons, it is considered plausible that investigators may attempt to raid and search the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae within the month, to gain access to official records related to Park’s charges.

Officials had tried to search the Blue House in October last year, but the presidential security team refused to cooperate, citing the need to protect confidential documents on national security.

By Bae Hyun-jung/The Korea Herald (tellme@heraldcorp.com)