Samsung head Lee Jae-yong avoids arrest over bribery charges

A South Korean judge has declined to grant an arrest warrant for the vice chairman of Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, following a request from prosecutors on Monday, reports Reuters.

“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,” said the judge in a statement.

Prosecutors sought Lee’s arrest after determining Samsung had been involved in the corruption case surrounding South Korea’s president, Park Geun-hye.

An investigation found that Samsung had given to groups linked to Choi Soon-sil, a close confidant of Park, approximately $36 million USD in bribes to move the president in favour of a 2015 merger between two Samsung subsidiaries.

[source]Reuters[/source]