Samsung Group's chief Lee Jae-yong has been questioned by the South Korean prosecutor's office regarding his role in the influencing-peddling scandal involving the country's President Park Geun-hye. He showed up Feb. 13 at Seoul's prosecutor's office.
This is the second round of questioning involving Lee, after he — along with key Samsung executives — was grilled by authorities last January.
South Korean Rasputin
Prosecutors have been focusing on Lee's donations to non-profit organizations backed by Choi Soon-sil, the President's confidante and more popularly known as South Korea's female Rasputin.
Choi is Mrs. Park's childhood friend and is the daughter of Choi Tae-min, a cult leader. She is the primary person of interest in the corruption scandal involving President Park.
The allegation is that Choi has masterminded and intervened in government policymaking despite holding no official government position due to her influence on the President. She was particularly accused of forcing South Korean chaebols such as Samsung to donate huge amounts of money in exchange for boons.
Samsung Bribery
Lee's name has been dragged in the political scandal for his $37.3 million donation to Choi-backed organizations. He was also accused of funding the equestrian career of Choi's daughter. Authorities believe that they were made to secure Choi's support for the merger of two Samsung companies, Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.
The initiative eventually pushed through after South Korea's National Pension Services approved the $8 billion-merger. The prosecutors are now probing the details of such approval to determine whether Choi or Lee's donations had influence on NPS's decision.
Lee and Mrs. Park's Impeachment
Establishing Lee's role in the bribery accusation against Choi is crucial in validating Mrs. Park's impeachment. The South Korean parliament has stripped her of her power last December but the country's Constitutional Court will still decide whether such move was legitimate. She is currently being held in detention.
Back in January, Lee was grilled for 22 hours but the prosecutors failed to secure a warrant for his arrest. He has maintained his innocence and will likely invoke the same talking point at this juncture. Reports indicated that investigators could seek the same warrant again based on Lee's statements.
Two Samsung executives are said be currently being considered as suspects as well. These are both serving as officers of the Korea Equestrian Federation.
Samsung Electronics' share fell 1.25 percent the same day Lee was questioned by authorities. Analysts, however, stated that the incident will not affect Samsung's market performance.
"The issue will have limited impact on share prices, except if the worst-case scenario happens, since political issues previously did not have a big influence on share prices or earnings," Hyundai Securities's Bae Sung-young, said.
Since taking over the reins at Samsung, Lee has been credited for initiatives that are making the company more compact.