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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

It's about time for Jay Y. Lee to flee the country, as South Korean prosecutors are seeking a warrant for his arrest [bloomberg.com]:

Prosecutors are seeking a warrant to arrest Samsung Group's Jay Y. Lee for allegations including bribery and embezzlement, a stunning turn for the scion of South Korea's richest family groomed for decades to take over the company from his father.

Lee, 48, the de facto head of the Samsung Group and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., is accused of participating in payments that Samsung made to a close friend of South Korean President Park Geun-hye in exchange for government support in the company's succession planning. A court will still have to determine whether to approve the warrant, which was announced by prosecutors in a briefing on Monday. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Also at CNBC [cnbc.com] and NYT [nytimes.com]:

The special prosecutor, Park Young-soo, said the money represented bribes from Samsung. He said that he had asked a Seoul court to issue an arrest warrant for Mr. Lee; it usually takes a few days for a court to decide whether to grant such a warrant.

If Mr. Lee is arrested, it will be a landmark in South Korea's efforts to fight corruption in the country's powerful family-controlled conglomerates, known as chaebol, and could disrupt his efforts to inherit management control of Samsung, whose tentacles in telecommunications, shipbuilding and a range of other industries reach throughout South Korea's economy.

Previously: Samsung Vice Chairman a Suspect in South Korean Presidential Bribery Probe [soylentnews.org]

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