SEOUL: South Korean prosecutors on Monday sought the arrest of the heir to the Samsung empire over a scandal that has seen the country’s president impeached, in the latest setback for the giant conglomerate.

Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, is already reeling from the international debacle over its Galaxy Note 7, which was recalled after some devices caught fire.

Prosecutors investigating the corruption scandal said they asked a court to issue an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-Yong, the only son of Samsung group chairman Lee Kun-Hee.

The Seoul Central District Court said it would rule on the request on Wednesday.

Samsung’s revenue is equivalent to a fifth of South Korea’s GDP and Lee’s arrest could have an “important” impact on the economy, a spokesman for the prosecutors acknowledged. “But we believe that achieving justice is more important,” he said.

The scion is vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, the firm’s flagship subsidiary, and the de facto head of the group after his father suffered a heart attack in 2014.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2017