Samsung Chief Lee Arrested In Corruption Investigation (reuters.com)

According to Reuters, Samsung chief Jay Y. Lee was arrested on Friday over his alleged role in a corruption scandal that led parliament to impeach South Korean President Park Geun-hye. From the report: The 48-year-old Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS), was taken into custody at the Seoul Detention Centre, where he had awaited the court's decision following a day-long, closed-door hearing that ended on Thursday evening. The judge's decision was announced at about 5:30 a.m. (2030 GMT) on Friday, more than 10 hours after Lee, the sprawling conglomerate's third-generation leader, had left the court. The same court rejected a request from prosecutors last month to arrest Lee. On Tuesday, the special prosecutor's office had requested a warrant to arrest him and another executive, Samsung Electronics president Park Sang-jin, on bribery and other charges. The prosecution said it had secured additional evidence and brought more charges against Lee in the latest warrant request. While Lee's detention is not expected to hamper day-to-day operation of Samsung Group companies, which are run by professional managers, experts have said it could affect strategic decision-making by South Korea's biggest conglomerate. Prosecutors have focused their investigations on Samsung's relationship with Park, 65, who was impeached by parliament in December and has been stripped of her powers while the Constitutional Court decides whether to uphold her impeachment. They accused Samsung of paying bribes totaling 43 billion won ($37.74 million) to organizations linked to Choi to secure the government's backing for a merger of two Samsung units. That funding includes Samsung's sponsorship of the equestrian career of Choi's daughter, who is in detention in Denmark, having been on a South Korean wanted list.

Comments

Weird

[rsilvergun]

I don't think anyone with that much money's been prosecuted for corruption in the United States, well, ever. Maybe Madoff would count. I wonder who he pissed off / forgot to bribe. The cynic in me can't believe this is an honest attempt at justice.

Re:Weird

[HornWumpus]

Madoff was the worst of the worst in the eyes of billionaires. A poseur that got away with it for decades, getting fat on their caviar and dom, taking off all the 'right people' in 'high society'. They have to remember elbowing and clawing, just to be allowed to get fucked by Madoff. The butthurt will be slow to fade.

At the end he's only got what he has very well hidden. How he gets any of that into prison is a mystery. Penniless in the eyes of the law.

I expected their to be criminal charges after the first dotcom bubble popped. In one example I know of, a mortgage bank took a sweet two billion out of the DuPont family. But lesson for any accountants/comptrollers/CFOs at dotcom companies today, make sure your books are immaculate. If you hired bangladeshi click farms make god damn sure nobody can prove it. Even in 10 years, after some other fool led them right to the bangladeshi's usual payment route. It will save your sphincter some hard miles.

Re:Weird

[youngone]

I don't think he will ever see the inside of a prison. I had a quick look at this and there seems to have been a fair bit of dodgy dealing over the years.

I don't imagine that's unique to Samsung either, the Chaebols have a huge amount of political power in Korea.

If only they'd do this in USA

[Anonymous Coward]

We'd have a bunch of bank execs in jail.

Re:If only they'd do this in USA

[surfdaddy]

What a great post, I was about to post something similar. While I was generally a fan of Obama, this is one area where his administration fell down. And the big banks should have been broken up.

No more explosive phones from Samsung then

[OneHundredAndTen]

I guess that Samsung is not on fire any longer. It will not come up with more explosive handsets, its phones will not become flaming successes, and it will of course not singe the competition. What a shame - my money was burning a hole in my pocket.

Re:No more explosive phones from Samsung then

[OneHundredAndTen]

Just make sure your Samsung phone does not explode while you have it in your backpocket.

Normal.

[thesupraman]

Dont worry, almost certainly just political.

The Korean Chaebol corps are pretty much untouchable, this guy is just a bit new and probably wasnt quite playing by the rules.
This is just the governments way of reinforcing that they are the flip side of the corruption coin, and that the corps have to play
by the rules. He will almost certainly get a few minor wrist slaps and told to play nicer and keep it quieter.

Other than that, its all just corruption as normal behind the curtains. Thats the price Koreans pay for the superpower Corps that fuel
their economy. Works fine until you are on the wrong side of it, then you are pretty much screwed.

After all the Koreans learnt the whole game off the Americans.. They just play it a little harder/faster.

Re:What's wrong with Korea?

[Falconhell]

Could it be they just you know, apply the law, unlike western countries, where politicians are virtually never prosecuted for their crimes?

No Corporate corruption in the USA !

[swell]

Can't happen in Amerikka; we respect our corporate leaders. Bankers and others 'too big to fail' get a bye when the shit hits the fan. Only the minions pay the price.

Re:What's wrong with Korea?

[Wootery]

Uh. If the president gets tried for corruption, that means he's not above the law.

When they don't get tried for corruption, one can't easily tell if it's because of innocence, or a broken system.

Re:What's wrong with Korea?

[TheRaven64]

That sounds like a pretty good thing. Most of our leaders have been guilty of corruption, but it's hard to think of any that have suffered as a result.

Which Parliment?

[kamathln]

.... scandal that led parliament to impeach South Korean President Park Geun-hye. From the report: . ....

Which parliment? Is Slashdot specific to USA or a global website? Why do we have so many reports that simply mention "parliment" or "the Navy" , etc. without mentioning the nation?