Special prosecutors in South Korea are renewing their efforts to obtain an arrest warrant for the defacto leader of the Samsung Group on alleged bribery charges in an influence-peddling scandal.
The scandal led to the country's parliament voting to impeach President Park Geun-hye on 8 December 2016.
The first attempt to obtain a warrant to arrest Lee Jae-yong, who is the vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, failed last month.
This time, the investigators have also asked the Seoul Central District Court to issue a writ for Samsung Electronics president Park Sang-jin over his alleged involvement in the irregularities, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
{loadposition sam08}A court hearing on Thursday will determine whether to issue the warrants sought.
The investigators say that more criminal charges have been made against Lee compared to the last time it sought his arrest.
According to Yonhap, the Samsung Group, South Korea's largest business conglomerate, is alleged to have signed a 22 billion won (US$18.3 million) contract with a Germany-based company owned by Choi Soon-il, a confidante of Park, and her daughter, under a consulting arrangement to pay for the daughter's equestrian training.
The investigators are examining whether this contract was signed as a quid pro quo for the state-run pension fund's backing a major 2015 merger deal between Samsung subsidiaries.
Allegations have been made that the presidential office put pressure on the state fund to back the merger in return for the alleged favours that Samsung granted Choi.
Lee was questioned again on Monday as the investigation deadline of 28 February drew closer. But it can be extended for another month if South Korea's acting president and prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn gives his assent.