The de facto leader of the Samsung Group, Lee Jae-yong, is to be indicted on charges of bribery, as investigators concluded their probe into an influence-peddling scandal around South Korean President Park Geun-hye, the independent counsel said today.
Lee, the vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, is suspected of either handing over or promising about 43 billion won (US$36.3 million) in bribes to Choi Soon-il, a jailed friend of Park, to ensure the government backed the merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015, Yonhap reported.
This merger was seen as vital to the management of the succession from ailing Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee to Lee, who is his only son.
An investigating team was given 70 days and an additional 20 for preparation to look into the allegations that Park let Choi interfere in state affairs and use her ties to the president to increase her own wealth.
{loadposition sam08}Lee was arrested on 17 February, becoming the first head of South Korea's largest business group to be detained.
The investigating team had sought an extension of a month for its probe from from from acting president and prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, but this was denied.
Park, meanwhile, is waiting for the Constitutional Court to decide whether to uphold an impeachment vote which took place on 8 December 2016.
The scandal and its fallout comes after a year in which Samsung had to stop production of its flagship Galaxy Note7 after numerous devices combusted. The company also faced issues with washing machines and had to order a recall.
As a result of safety measures introduced after the Note7 fiasco, Samsung did not announce its new flagship, the Galaxy S8, at the Mobile World Congress which is underway in Barcelona this week. In the past such models have been unveiled at this event. The announcement is said to be delayed until 29 March.