SEOUL, South Korea -- Prosecutors have requested the arrest 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 prosecutors office said Monday that it requested an arrest warrant for Lee, the 48-year-old Samsung Electronics vice chairman.

It 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. </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> 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> Prosecutors have requested the arrest of 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 prosecutors office said it had asked the court to approve a warrant for the arrest of Samsung Electronics vice chairman Mr Lee, 48.

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

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

Last week investigators questioned Mr Lee on claims that Samsung won government favours 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, who has been jailed.

Samsung had no comment when asked about the arrest warrant. </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> South Korea’s Special Prosecutor’s Office on Monday sought an arrest warrant against Samsung chief Jay Y Lee, who is accused of paying bribes worth millions to President Park Geun-hye’s friend, who is at the centre of an extortion scandal. Jay Lee is also accused of embezzlement and perjury, according to the application for an arrest warrant, Reuters reported.

The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics faces allegations of paying bribes worth 43 billion won (more than Rs 200 crore) to organisations with links to Choi Soon-sil, the president’s long-time friend and confidante. He had allegedly paid bribed to ensure the merger of two company affiliates as well as his control of the family business – he became the de facto head of the Samsung Group after his father was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014.

Spokesman for the prosecution Lee Kyu-chul said that the office had evidence to prove that both Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil had profited from payments made by the Samsung chief. “The special prosecutors’ office, in making this decision to seek an arrest warrant, determined that while the country’s economic conditions are important, upholding justice takes precedence,” he added.

Samsung – South Korea’s largest conglomerate, generating about 17% of the country’s revenue – has denied the accusations: “It is especially hard to accept the special prosecutor’s assertion that there was improper request for a favour related to the merger or succession of control,” the company said in a statement. Shares of Samsung Electronics ended 2.14% lower after the news broke.

The South Korean Parliament had impeached President Park Geun-Hye on December 9, following accusations of colluding with Choi Soon-sil to extort money in the form of donations from South Korean companies. The money, which was transferred to non-profit foundations controlled by Choi Soon-sil, was allegedly used for personal gains. The president also faces accusations of ordering her aides to leak official state documents to her friend, who has no official position in the South Korean government.

The Constitutional Court of South Korea has six months to decide on whether it will uphold the impeachment motion. Till then, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn holds the responsibility of running the country. If the court decides to remove Park Geun-Hye from the position, South Korea will have to elect a new president within 60 days of the ruling. </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> South Korean prosecutors on Monday sought a warrant for the arrest of the Samsung Group’s de facto leader — one of the nation’s wealthiest and most-powerful executives — in a bribery case related to last month’s impeachment of the country’s president.

Investigators allege that Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., improperly directed company funds to a confidant of the impeached president, Park Geun-hye — perhaps in an effort to solidify his dynastic control over the tech giant, which is South Korea’s largest company.

The prosecutors say that Lee, the grandson of the late Samsung founder, directed the funds to Park’s friend, Choi Soon-sil, to curry favor with the government. In return, the prosecutors allege, he wanted support for a controversial 2015 merger between two company affiliates.

Rhee So-eui, a company representative, said Samsung did not make contributions to receive favors.

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“In particular, we find it hard to accept the special prosecutor’s argument that Samsung has made improper requests related to the merger of Samsung affiliates or the leadership transition,” Rhee said. “We believe the court will make the appropriate judgment on this matter.”

If the arrest warrant is issued and leads to an indictment, these would be the latest criminal charges in an unprecedented power-abuse scandal that has rocked South Korea’s political system, leading to historic street protests in recent months.

Protesters hold cutouts of impeached President Park Geun-hye, top, as they march toward the presidential house during a candlelight vigil in Seoul on Jan. 7, 2017. (Ahn Young-joon / AP )

“This thing is metastasizing all out of control,” Robert Kelly, an associate professor at Pusan National University, said of the scandal. “Every day there’s some new revelation.”

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South Korea’s national legislature last month voted to impeach Park, who is suspended from daily presidential duties and, for now, remains immune to criminal charges. A constitutional court is weighing whether to permanently remove Park, whose appointed prime minister is the acting head of state.

Park has apologized repeatedly for the scandal but denied acting outside the national interest. She has also refused to cooperate with the various investigations into her actions.

South Korea has a long history of charging executives at its massive, family-controlled companies, known as chaebol, which control a sizable portion of the nation’s retail and manufacturing economy.

Yet the allegations against the Samsung chief, who is known as Jay Y. Lee in the West, stand out because of the firm’s local and global prominence — and as a sign that more business moguls tied to the scandal could face criminal scrutiny.

“The accusations against Jay are so common for Korean chaebol heads they’re more like a rite of passage,” said Geoffrey Cain, a Seoul-based journalist currently writing a book about Samsung’s empire. “But this time it’s a lot more significant.”

Cain said the allegations, if they lead to a conviction, could dislodge Lee as the company’s de facto leader. “That would be groundbreaking in South Korea, since it’s almost unheard of for a ruling family to be pushed out of corporate power.”

Kelly, the Pusan National University professor, said South Korea’s government has a history of meddling in economic matters, creating an environment that invites corruption. “It’s always putting businessmen and government bureaucrats around a table talking about money,” he said.

Still, he said the case involving Samsung “carries a lot of weight.”

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“You’ve heard Korea referred to as a Republic of Samsung,” he said. “This is something that, quite honestly, could have good political side effects, which is taking down Korea’s largest chaebol, which has been used to a certain amount of impunity.”

The special counsel in the case has probed whether the tech giant, the nation’s largest conglomerate, donated more than $20 million to firms and foundations associated with Choi, the disgraced presidential confidant.

Choi Soon-sil, center, South Korean President Park Geun-hye's longtime friend, arrives for her trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul on Jan. 11, 2017. (Ahn Young-joon / AP )

Choi, whose late father was an influential cult leader in South Korea, is standing trial on an array of allegations that she used her influence with Park to obtain funds from numerous business, including Samsung. Investigators want to know whether the payments led to the National Pension Service’s decision to back a controversial merger in 2015 between two Samsung affiliates, Samsung C&T Corp., and Cheil Industries Inc.

Prosecutors on Monday charged Moon Hyung-pyo, the chairman of the National Pension Service, with perjury and abuse of authority.

The merger was seen by corporate analysts as an effort to solidify Lee’s dynastic succession over the tech giant’s vast holdings. His title is vice chairman, but he’s essentially running the Samsung Group after his father’s incapacitating heart attack in 2014.

Prosecutors last week called the younger Lee, a tall, bespectacled man who attended Harvard Business School, to discuss the bribery allegations. He reportedly answered questions, off and on, for 22 hours. Some reports suggested Lee, worth an estimated $6 billion, was allowed only a $5 box meal during the grilling.

Lee, with a polite smile and escorted by a lawyer, arrived at the counsel’s office about 9:30 a.m. Thursday, shuffling through a crush of reporters. “I am deeply sorry, and I apologize to the Korean people for failing to put our best face forward due to this incident,” he told reporters before bowing and entering the office. He didn’t leave until the next morning — again amid a mass of media.

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During the questioning, a spokesman for the special counsel said prosecutors had been considering whether to charge Lee with bribery and perjury. Prosecutors had already asked him in mid-December not to leave the country.

Unlike in the United States, many high-profile South Korean investigations involving large companies or political figures play out publicly. Prosecutors leak investigative details, conduct high-profile searches and summon suspects for questioning with dozens of reporters present — public displays that typically foretell criminal charges.

The case against Lee, however, remained a shock — despite the weeks of public hints that charges could be coming.

The company and Lee have said they made payments to Choi’s foundations — even reportedly buying a nearly $1 million dressage horse for her daughter, a noted equestrian athlete. The firm has said the payments were philanthropic and supported national sports programs, denying accusations that it sought to ease the merger.

The Samsung Group is no stranger to criminal crises at the top of its empire.

Lee’s father, chairman Lee Kun-hee, took over Samsung in 1987. He was forced to resign in 2008 amid charges related to a slush fund to promote Samsung’s interests. He was fined nearly $100 million and served a suspended sentence, even though prosecutors recommended that he be sent to prison. The elder Lee regained control of the company in 2010, but has been incapacitated since 2014.

The Samsung Group is just one of several South Korean conglomerates that donated funds to Choi’s foundations, raising the specter that other corporate titans could also be felled by the scandal.

Stiles is a special correspondent.

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UPDATES:

9:05 a.m.: This article has been updated with comments from a Samsung representative.

This article was originally published Jan. 15, 2017, at 9 p.m. </s> South Korean prosecutors asked a court Monday for the arrest of the heir to giant conglomerate Samsung for bribery in connection with a political scandal that has seen President Park Geun-Hye impeached. SEOUL: South Korea's special prosecutors' office said it will seek a warrant to arrest the head of Samsung Group, the country's biggest conglomerate, as a corruption scandal engulfing President Park Geun-hye escalated on Monday .

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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.