- Title: Samsung chief heads to detention centre after arrest warrant hearing
- Date: 18th January 2017
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JANUARY 18, 2017) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VICE CHAIRMAN OF SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, JAY Y. LEE, PASSING THROUGH SECURITY DEVICE AND WALKING OUT OF SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT BUILDING VARIOUS OF LEE GETTING OUT OF COURT BUILDING AND WALKING AWAY BEING SURROUNDED BY MEDIA JAY Y. LEE 'S ATTORNEY, SONG WU-CHEOL, SURROUNDED BY MEDIA, STANDING IN FRONT OF SECURITY DEVICE AT SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT JOURNALISTS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) JAY Y. LEE 'S ATTORNEY, SONG WU-CHEOL, SAYING: "Eventually, whether the bribe-offering was for favours in return or not, was the most controversial. We, the counsel, think we've sufficiently proven our point." EXTERIOR OF SPECIAL PROSECUTORS' OFFICE BUILDING SPOKESMAN FOR THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE, LEE KYU-CHUL, AND OFFICER BOWING AND LEE STANDING AT PODIUM / LETTERS ON WALL READING (Korean): "SPECIAL PROSECUTOR FOR INVESTIGATION ON THE INFLUENCE-PEDDLING SCANDAL CENTRED AROUND PRESIDENT PARK GEUN-HYE AND CIVILIANS INCLUDING CHOI SOON-SIL" JOURNALISTS SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SPOKESMAN FOR THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE, LEE KYU-CHUL, SAYING: "We have nothing special to say because the examination results of the arrest warrant didn't come out yet. But since the special prosecutors' office has been doing our best so far for this arrest warrant, we are expecting the judges to make a wise decision." JOURNALISTS SEATED NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS UIWANG, SOUTH KOREA (JANUARY 18, 2017) (REUTERS) MAIN GATE OF SEOUL DETENTION CENTRE WHERE LEE IS WAITING FOR COURT'S DECISION OFFICERS OF SEOUL DETENTION CENTRE DIRECTING VEHICLES LETTERS ON SIGNBOARD READING (Korean): "SEOUL DETENTION CENTRE" OFFICER OF SEOUL DETENTION CENTRE DIRECTING VEHICLES
- Embargoed: 1st February 2017 06:59
- Keywords: South Korea Samsung Jay Y. Lee court hearing arrest warrant lawyer political scandal
- Location: SEOUL, UIWANG, SOUTH KOREA
- City: SEOUL, UIWANG, SOUTH KOREA
- Country: South Korea
- Reuters ID: LVA0015ZLXDMT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A South Korean judge questioned Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee behind closed doors on Wednesday (January 18) to decide whether he should be arrested over his alleged role in a corruption scandal that led parliament to impeach President Park Geun-hye.
Lee, 48, in dark overcoat and purple necktie, did not answer questions from reporters as he left the Seoul Central District Court after the nearly four-hour hearing and headed by car to a detention centre to await his fate.
One of the five attorneys representing Lee struck a positive tone, saying the legal team had argued its case sufficiently.
"Eventually, whether the bribe-offering was for favours in return or not, was the most controversial. We, the counsel, think we've sufficiently proven our point," attorney Song Wu-cheol told reporters.
The special prosecutor's office on Monday (January 16) said it would seek a warrant to arrest the third-generation leader of the country's largest conglomerate on suspicion of bribery, embezzlement and perjury.
Lee, who has been the de facto leader of South Korea's biggest conglomerate since his father Lee Kun-hee was incapacitated by a 2014 heart attack, was questioned last week for 22 straight hours at the prosecutor's office in Seoul. He has denied wrongdoing.
The judge may not announce his decision on the arrest warrant for Lee until after midnight, a court official told Reuters on Tuesday (January 17). The court ordered Lee to be held at the Seoul Detention Centre, a half-hour drive away, while it reviews the warrant request.
The special prosecutor has accused Lee of paying bribes totalling 43 billion won ($36.70 million) to organisations linked to Choi Soon-sil, a friend of the president who is at the centre of the scandal, to secure the 2015 merger of two affiliates and cement his control of the family business.
"We have nothing special to say because the examination results of the arrest warrant didn't come out yet. But since the special prosecutors' office has been doing our best so far for this arrest warrant, we are expecting the judges to make a wise decision," a spokesman for the special prosecutor, Lee Kyu-chul, said after Lee left the court.
The special prosecutor's office has said it did not seek arrest warrants for three other Samsung Group executives that also underwent questioning, in order to minimise the impact on Samsung business.
The president was impeached last month by parliament over the influence-peddling scandal, a decision that if upheld by the Constitutional Court will see her become the country's first democratically-elected leader forced from office early.
Park, who remains in office but stripped of her powers while the court decides her fate, has denied wrongdoing. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None