Lee Jae-yong leaves Seoul Detention House in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, early morning on Jan. 19.
The independent counsel team looking into the corruption scandal sought the warrant for Lee on Monday on charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury.Samsung Group expressed relief over the court’s decision.
“We are relieved that Samsung Group can fight for truth without Lee’s detention. We will do our best to clarify the fact that Samsung Group has never made donations (for the foundations linked to Choi) in return for favors regarding the merger of Samsung C&T’s and Cheil Industries,” said Samsung Group. “We feel sorry and regrettable that we have been involved in such allegations.”
The court's rejection for Lee's arrest warrant is likely to deal a blow to investigators who have been accelerating the probe into the bribery allegations involving Park, Choi and local firms.
The alleged Samsung bribery is a primary charge for President Park’s ongoing impeachment trial under review at the Constitutional Court.
Park is accused of colluding with Choi and her aides to extort money from Samsung and a score of other local business groups, giving them favors in return.
Several other Korean conglomerates, including LG Group and Hyundai Motor Group, also made donations to Choi’s foundations, although the investigation has not extended to them yet.
By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)
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