Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Lee left the Seoul detention centre in the early hours without speaking to reporters

A court in South Korea has refused a request by prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant for Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong.

The judge ruled early on Thursday that there was insufficient reason to arrest Mr Lee over accusations of bribery, embezzlement and perjury.

Mr Lee had been waiting for the ruling overnight since a hearing on Wednesday.

The allegations were part of a corruption scandal which led parliament to impeach President Park Geun-hye.

Samsung, which has consistently denied any wrongdoing, said in a statement that the "merits of this case can now be determined without the need for detention".

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption President Park Geun-hye was stripped of her powers last month

President Park is accused of abusing her position by colluding with a close friend, Choi Soon-sil, to use their relationship to secure millions of dollars from major companies. The money was allegedly paid into Ms Choi's non-profit foundations in exchange for favourable government treatment.

Prosecutors allege that Samsung paid 43bn won ($36.3m; £29.8m) to secure government support for a controversial merger of two of its affiliates.

Samsung has acknowledged making the payments but insists it did not expect anything in return.

South Korea's special prosecutors had declared Mr Lee a criminal suspect and made a formal request for an arrest warrant earlier this week.

Lee Jae-yong Samsung's heir apparent - Grandson of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul, son of current chairman Lee Kun-hee.

- Also known as Jay Y Lee, the 48-year-old has spent his entire career in the company.

- Is vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and was nominated to join the firm's board in October 2016.

- Despite his arrest, still widely expected to take overall control of Samsung.

- Critics say his rise through Samsung has been due to his birth, not his business experience. Getty Images

But the judge ruled that after reviewing the evidence it was "difficult to acknowledge the necessity and substantiality of an arrest at the current stage".

Opposition MPs said the decision was "regrettable" and ignored the strength of public sentiment.

Correspondents say prosecutors' hopes of stretching criminal proceedings to include the president may have been knocked off course by the refusal to issue a warrant against Mr Lee.

Samsung is South Korea's most high-profile company, and its sales are equal to about a fifth of the country's GDP.

Mr Lee is currently vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics but since his father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack in 2014, he is considered de facto boss of the entire Samsung Group conglomerate.

Ms Park, who has faced massive public protest in recent months, has been stripped of her presidential powers while the constitutional court considers her impeachment.</s>A South Korean court has denied a request from prosecutors to arrest Lee Jae-yong, the heir apparent at the country’s largest conglomerate, who is ensnared in a massive bribery scandal.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled that there “appears to be no flight risk and no need to physically detain” the Samsung vice chairman, the Korean Herald reported. He was reportedly interrogated for more than 22 hours over the weekend, and faces charges of bribery, embezzlement, and perjury.

Lee, who was being held in a detention facility pending the court’s decision, was immediately released. The ruling is a setback for prosecutors including Han Dong-hoon, dubbed the “chaebol sniper” for his relentless pursuit of the country’s conglomerates.

The Samsung heir, who has been running the company since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014, is accused of funneling tens of millions of dollars to Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of impeached president Park Geun-hye. The bribes allegedly paid for Choi’s daughter’s equestrian training.</s>SEOUL, South Korea — Prosecutors requested the arrest Monday of the Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong as a bribery suspect in the influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachment of South Korea's president.

The special prosecutor's office said it had asked the court to approve a warrant for the arrest of Lee, the 48-year-old Samsung Electronics vice chairman.

Samsung is South Korea's biggest company, and Lee is its de facto head.

The prosecutors office said it also indicted ex-health minister Moon Hyung-pyo on charges he abused his power to compel the national pension fund to support a contentious Samsung merger in 2015.

Last week, the investigators questioned Lee on allegations Samsung won government favors such as getting backing for the merger in exchange for donating corporate funds to various entities controlled by Choi Soon-sil, a long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye. She has been jailed.

Lee earlier denied the allegations. Samsung had no comment when asked about the arrest warrant.</s>(Reuters) – A South Korean court on Thursday dismissed a warrant to arrest the head of the Samsung Group, the country’s largest conglomerate, amid a graft scandal that has led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.

The pre-dawn decision by the Seoul Central District Court to allow Jay Y. Lee to go home is likely to come as a major relief to the company, whose leadership vacuum Lee has tried to fill since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014.

Lee, who had been questioned for 22 hours last week and was held overnight on Wednesday while the court reached its decision, left the Seoul Detention Centre carrying a white shopping bag and climbed into a car without talking to reporters.

The judge said in a statement that an arrest now was not necessary.

“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,” he said.

Samsung said in an emailed statement that it appreciated “the fact that the merits of this case can now be determined without the need for detention”.

The group’s flagship, Samsung Electronics, is the world’s biggest maker of smartphones, flat-screen televisions and memory chips.

The special prosecutor’s office on Monday said it would seek a warrant to arrest the group’s third-generation leader on suspicion of bribery, embezzlement and perjury. Lee had denied wrongdoing.

Park, 64, was impeached last month by parliament over the influence-peddling scandal. If the decision is upheld by the Constitutional Court, she will become South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be forced from office early.

Park, who remains in office but stripped of her powers while the court decides her fate, has also denied wrongdoing.

The special prosecutor has accused Lee of paying bribes totaling 43 billion won ($36.70 million) to organizations linked to Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the president who is at the center of the scandal, to secure the 2015 merger of two affiliates and cement his control of the family business.

Earlier this week, the special prosecutor indicted the chairman of the National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest pension fund, on charges of abuse of power and giving false testimony.</s>(SEOUL)— A Seoul court on Thursday denied a request to arrest one of South Korea’s most powerful men, the heir to the Samsung Electronics juggernaut, in a setback to prosecutors investigating an influence-peddling scandal that toppled South Korea’s president.

The Seoul Central District Court said that a judge concluded that there was not enough justification to detain the 48-year-old billionaire Samsung vice chairman, Lee Jae-yong, at this stage.

The announcement, made around 5 a.m. local time, allowed Lee to return home after a long night. He had been waiting for the court’s decision at a detention center south of Seoul for more than 12 hours after a court hearing the previous day.



Samsung said “the merits of this case can now be determined without the need for detention.”

The decision means that Samsung avoids what could have been a stunning fall for the princeling of the country’s richest family, a man groomed to lead South Korea’s most successful company.

It came amid calls for caution from some business groups and newspapers worried that arresting Lee could hurt the economy because of Samsung’s huge role, both economically and psychologically, in the country.

It is not uncommon in South Korea for courts to issue an arrest warrant past midnight for important or contentious cases, said Shin Jae-hwan, a spokesman for the Seoul court. The long deliberation means the judge must have agonized over the decision, he added.

Prosecutors said Lee gave 43 billion won ($36 million) in bribes to President Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil, her confidante, seeking support for a contentious merger. They also suspect him of embezzling and lying under oath during a parliamentary hearing last month.

The court’s decision may hurt prosecutors’ plan to expand the bribery probe to Park.

Prosecutors expressed strong disappointment and said they believe the court’s decision was caused by a difference in legal views on the nature of the allegations against the Samsung heir.

Samsung and other companies told investigators that they felt forced to make donations to foundations controlled by Choi in fear of retaliatory tax investigations and other unfair government treatment, according to state prosecutors who handed over the investigation to special prosecutors.

“The court’s rejection of the arrest warrant is very regrettable,” Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for a special prosecutors’ team investigating the political scandal, said. “We’ll take measures to continue an investigation unwaveringly,” he said, without elaborating.

South Korea’s main opposition party, which spearheaded Park’s impeachment, accused the court of being too lenient. “The president was impeached and Choi Soon-sil was arrested … but Samsung is still fine,” the Democratic Party said in a statement.

Lee has been serving as the de facto head of Samsung since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014. Shortly after the recalls of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone last year, he joined the board of Samsung Electronics, the group’s crown jewel.

Conglomerates like Samsung, known as chaebol, dominate South Korea’s economy, jobs and investment. Samsung Electronics and its affiliated companies account for about a third of the market value in South Korea’s main stock market.

Civic groups had called for Lee’s arrest as a way to show that all are equal before the law.

Many were infuriated by the allegations that the government had pressured a pension fund, a major investor in Samsung, to help the Lee family’s succession plan. Moon Hyung-pyo, the former health minister was indicted on Monday for allegedly pressuring pension fund officials to support the merger.

Prosecutors said Moon, who now heads the pension fund, acted on behalf of President Park, who ordered him to make sure that the Samsung merger went smoothly. They plan to summon Park to question her about the bribery allegations.

Park has been suspended from her duties since the parliament impeached her in December. She is awaiting the Constitutional Court’s decision on whether her impeachment will be upheld. Choi is on trial for meddling in state affairs.

Educated in South Korea, Japan and the United States, Lee is the crown prince of the country’s richest family, one South Koreans often liken to royalty.

His father is South Korea’s richest individual whose net worth is estimated at $14.8 billion by Forbes Magazine. The younger Lee’s net worth is estimated at $5.8 billion.

The elder Lee was convicted twice on bribery, embezzlement and other charges in 1996 and 2008, but he was never imprisoned. He received suspended jail terms and was later pardoned by the country’s presidents both times.</s>SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of _ In a departure from the leniency typically given South Korean big businesses, prosecutors on Monday requested the arrest of the de facto head of Samsung Electronics, the country’s most valuable company, in an influence-peddling scandal that has toppled the country’s president.

Lee Jae-yong, the 48-year-old vice chairman at Samsung Electronics, faces allegations of embezzlement, of lying under oath during a parliamentary hearing and of offering a bribe of 43 billion won ($36 million) to a long-time friend of impeached President Park Geun-hye, according to Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for a special prosecutors’ team investigating the political scandal.

It will surprise many that prosecutors requested the arrest of the man who symbolizes the future of South Korea’s most important chaebol, as family-controlled conglomerates are known. Such leaders tend to be treated as vital for the national economy.

Samsung Electronics is South Korea’s most successful company and a source of pride for many who equate its huge global success with national prestige. The company has gone through a rough patch in the past half-year, however, after its latest premium smartphone was found to be prone to catching fire.

Prosecutors understood worries that Lee’s arrest could hurt the economy, but “we believed that it was even more important to carry out justice,” Lee, the spokesman at the special prosecutors’ team, told reporters.

A Seoul court said it will review the prosecutors’ request on Wednesday. The request takes two to three days to review, according to a Seoul court official in charge of arrest warrants who declined to give his name because of office rules.

“The public demand that chaebol, especially Samsung, should not be an exception and that everyone should be equal before laws has become stronger,” said Kim Sang-jo, executive director of Solidarity for Economic Reforms, a private watchdog on big businesses. “Prosecutors and judicial institutions cannot ignore the huge pressure from the public.”

Samsung allegedly donated funds to various entities controlled by Choi Soon-sil, the jailed secretive confidante of the president, including two non-profit foundations and a winter sports centre run by Choi’s niece. This allegedly happened while the company was seeking the government’s help with a leadership succession within the Samsung group to Lee Jae-yong from his father who has been hospitalized for more than two years.

Part of the money given to Choi allegedly was embezzled by the Samsung vice chairman, the spokesman for the prosecutors said. He declined to disclose the exact amount.

Samsung said it has never made donations to win favours.

Prosecutors also indicted ex-health minister Moon Hyung-pyo on Monday on charges he abused his power to compel the national pension fund to support a contentious Samsung merger in 2015.

“We cannot accept the special prosecutors’ argument that there were unlawful favours related to the merger or the leadership succession,” Samsung said in a statement.

The investigation of the Samsung chief could also target Park. Her impeachment is under review by the constitutional Court, which will decide whether to restore her power or force her from office. The prosecutors’ spokesman said investigators had evidence proving that Park shared wealth with Choi and was an accomplice in the Samsung bribery case. They plan to summon Park and will then decide whether to name her as a suspect in the Samsung case, he said.

The national pension fund is the biggest shareholder in Samsung C&T. Its vote in favour of the company’s merger with Cheil Industries helped facilitate Samsung’s leadership succession, allowing Lee Jae-yong to increase his control over Samsung Electronics without spending any of his own money. Smaller shareholders said the merger unfairly benefited Samsung founding family members and hurt minority shareholders.

Samsung sought “unlawful favours” related to “leadership succession,” the prosecutors’ spokesman said.

Samsung Electronics was founded by Lee Jae-yong’s grandfather. The younger Lee has been serving as its de facto head since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014.

Other leaders at Samsung, Hyundai Motor and SK, including Lee’s father Lee Kun-hee, have been convicted in the past for embezzlement or tax evasion. But most avoided imprisonment and later won pardons from presidents who worried that the economy might suffer if they were jailed.

In turn, the businesses often responded to such pardons by announcing big investments or jobs. A former South Korean president pardoned Lee Kun-hee, the ailing Samsung chairman, in 2009, in hopes he would help South Korea win a bid to host the Winter Olympic games.

He was reinstated as a member of the International Olympic Committee after the pardon and South Korea won the bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics games in Pyeongchang.</s>S.Korea prosecutors undecided on further arrest warrant request for Samsung chief

SEOUL, Jan 19 (Reuters) - South Korea's special prosecutor's office said on Thursday it has not decided whether to make another arrest warrant request for Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee after a court rejected its first request.

Special prosecution spokesman Lee Kyu-chul said Lee has argued that he is a victim of coercion due to pressure from President Park Geun-hye but that the prosecution was not convinced of his argument.

The 48-year-old executive was named a suspect as part of an investigation into a graft scandal that has led to the impeachment of Park.

The spokesman also said Samsung Group Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung had been classified as a suspect on suspicion of bribery but did not elaborate further.</s>SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of _ A Seoul court denied a request to arrest Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, a setback to prosecutors investigating an influence-peddling scandal that toppled South Korea’s president.

The Seoul Central District Court said Thursday that a judge concluded that there was not enough justification to detain the 48-year-old Samsung heir at this stage.

The announcement, made around 5 a.m. local time, allows Lee to return home after a long night. He had been waiting for the court’s decision at a detention centre south of Seoul for more than 12 hours after a court hearing the previous day.

Samsung said “the merits of this case can now be determined without the need for detention.”

It is not uncommon in South Korea to issue an arrest warrant past midnight for important cases that have many contentious issues, said Shin Jae-hwan, a spokesman for the Seoul court. The long deliberation reflects that the judge must have been agonizing over the decision, he added.

Prosecutors accused Lee of giving 43 billion won ($36 million) in bribes to President Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil, her confidante, seeking support for a contentious merger. They also suspect him of embezzling and lying under oath during a parliamentary hearing last month.

Their plan to expand the bribery probe to Park may have hit a snag with the denial of the request to arrest Lee.

Samsung avoided what could have been a stunning fall for the princeling of the country’s richest family who has been groomed to lead South Korea’s most successful company.

Lee has been serving as the de facto head of Samsung since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014. Shortly after the recalls of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone last year, he joined the board of Samsung Electronics, the group’s crown jewel.

Conglomerates like Samsung, known as chaebol, dominate the Asian country’s economy, jobs and investment.

Some business groups and newspapers urged caution out of concern that arresting Lee could hurt the economy because of Samsung’s huge role in South Korean industry. Samsung Electronics and its affiliated companies account for about a third of the market value in South Korea’s main stock market.

But civic groups called for Lee’s arrest to show that all are equal before the law.

Many were infuriated by the allegations that the government had pressured a pension fund, a major investor in Samsung, to help the Lee family’s succession plan. Moon Hyung-pyo, the former health minister was indicted on Monday for allegedly pressuring pension fund officials to support the merger.

Prosecutors said Moon, who now heads the pension fund, acted on behalf of President Park, who ordered him to ensure the Samsung merger went smoothly. They plan to summon Park to question her about the bribery allegations.

Park has been suspended from her duties since the parliament impeached her in December. She is awaiting the constitutional Court’s decision on whether her impeachment will be upheld. Choi is on trial for meddling in state affairs.

Educated in South Korea, Japan and the United States, Lee is the crown prince of the country’s richest family, one South Koreans often liken to royalty.

His father is South Korea’s richest individual whose net worth is estimated at $14.8 billion by Forbes Magazine. The younger Lee’s net worth is estimated at $5.8 billion.

The elder Lee was convicted twice on bribery, embezzlement and other charges in 1996 and 2008, but he was never imprisoned. He received suspended jail terms and was later pardoned by the country’s presidents both times.</s>SEOUL: A Seoul court on Thursday (Jan 19) rejected an arrest warrant sought for Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, prosecutors said, as part of a widening probe into a corruption scandal engulfing President Park Geun-hye.

The Seoul Central District Court turned down a request sought by prosecutors on Monday for the warrant to arrest Lee on charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury.

Investigators said Lee gave or promised some 43 billion won (US$36.3 million) worth of bribes to Park's jailed confidante Choi Soon-Sil.

The payment was allegedly in return for the state pension fund's backing of a merger of two Samsung affiliates - deemed crucial for Lee's hereditary succession of power at Samsung, the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and a key part of the South Korean economy.

But the prosecutors have so far failed to come up with solid evidence, the court said.

"It is difficult to accept the reasons, need and justification" to issue the warrant, it said in a statement released by the prosecutors, citing the lack of clear-cut evidence.</s>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A Seoul court denied a request to arrest Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, a setback to prosecutors investigating an influence-peddling scandal that toppled South Korea’s president.

The Seoul Central District Court said Thursday that a judge concluded that there was not enough reason to detain the 48-year-old Samsung heir at this stage.

The announcement, made around 5 a.m. local time, allows Lee to return home after a long night. He had been waiting for the court’s decision at a detention center south of Seoul for more than 12 hours after a court hearing the previous day.

It is not uncommon in South Korea to issue an arrest warrant past midnight for cases that are important and have many contentious points, said Shin Jae-hwan, a spokesman for the Seoul court. The long deliberation reflects that the judge must have been agonizing over the decision, he added.

Prosecutors accused him of giving 43 billion won ($36 million) in bribes to President Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil, her confidante, seeking support for a contentious merger. They also suspect him of embezzling and lying under oath during a parliamentary hearing last month.

Their plan to expand the bribery probe to Park may have hit a snag with the denial of the request to arrest Lee.

Samsung avoided what could have been a stunning fall for the princeling of the country’s richest family who has been groomed to lead South Korea’s most successful company.

Lee has been serving as the de facto head of Samsung since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014. Shortly after the recalls of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone last year, he joined the board of Samsung Electronics, the group’s crown jewel.

Conglomerates like Samsung, known as chaebol, dominate the Asian country’s economy, jobs and investment.

Some business groups and newspapers urged caution out of concern that arresting Lee could hurt the economy because of Samsung’s huge role in South Korean industry. Samsung Electronics and its affiliated companies account for about a third of the market value in South Korea’s main stock market.

But civic groups called for Lee’s arrest to show that all are equal before the law. Many were infuriated by the allegations that the government had pressured a pension fund, a major investor in Samsung, to help the Lee family’s succession plan.

 Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
A court in South Korea strikes down a request by prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant for Samsung vice chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is accused of bribery and embezzlement, in connection to a corruption scandal involving impeached President Park Geun-hye.