SEOUL: Prosecutors on Friday arrested the de facto head of South Korea’s largest conglomerate, Samsung, on bribery and other charges related to a political corruption scandal that triggered the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye.

In a fresh blow to the electronics giant’s corporate image, a district court cited new evidence in approving the arrest warrant against vice-chairman Lee Jae-Yong, who oversees the family-run conglomerate in the absence of his ailing father.

Among other allegations, Lee is accused of paying nearly $40 million in bribes to a confidante of President Park’s to secure policy favours.

“It is acknowledged that it is necessary to arrest (Lee Jae-Yong) in light of a newly added criminal charge and new evidence,” a court spokesman said in a statement.

Shares of many Samsung units took a hit on the Seoul stock market following the news, with the group’s flagship Samsung Electronics sliding 0.4 percent.

Its de-facto holdings firm, Samsung C&T, dropped two percent and another key unit, Samsung Life Insurance, fell 1.4 percent.

“We will do our best to ensure that the truth is revealed in future court proceedings,” the group said in a statement.

Lee was already being held at a detention centre after appearing in court Thursday as judges deliberated whether to issue an arrest warrant. He will remain in custody as he awaits a trial likely to begin within a few months.

Prosecutors said they planned to summon him Saturday for further questioning, raising the prospect of Lee appearing in public in handcuffs — a rare sight in the nation dubbed the “Republic of Samsung” due to the group’s huge lobbying power. Lee, the son of Samsung group boss Lee Kun-Hee, has been quizzed several times over his alleged role in the scandal.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2017