A South Korean judge has approved the arrest of Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong, according to the Wall Street Journal.
South Korean federal prosecutors sought Lee, the heir apparent to the entire Samsung empire, in connection to the country’s ongoing corruption scandal involving disgraced president Park Guen-hye.
BREAKING: South Korea court approves arrest of Samsung’s de facto leader in connection to massive corruption scandal – DJ, AP
— CNBC (@CNBC) February 16, 2017
Lee is accused of giving $36 million USD in bribes to President Park Geun-hye, as well as her close associate, Choi Soon-sil.
Once Lee is arrested, prosecutors have 21 days to formally press charges against him.
This is the equivalent of the FBI arresting Tim Cook, but if Tim Cook were also simultaneously the CEO of HP, Dell, Raytheon, etc. https://t.co/3jiSQ7ZjXp
— Christopher Mims (@mims) February 16, 2017
Prosecutors first sought an arrest warrant for Lee on January 16th. Citing a lack of evidence, however, a Korean federal judge denied the request, saying in defence of his decision, “it is difficult to acknowledge the necessity and substantiality of an arrest at the current stage.”
Source: Wall Street Journal
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
