Samsung chief Lee arrested as South Korean corruption probe deepens

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SEOUL Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee was arrested early on Friday over his alleged role in a corruption scandal that led parliament to impeach South Korean President Park Geun-hye, dealing a fresh blow to the world's biggest maker of smartphones.

The 48-year-old Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, was taken into custody at the Seoul Detention Centre, where he had awaited the court's decision following a day-long, closed-door hearing that ended on Thursday evening.

Shares in Samsung Electronics opened down 1.2 percent, while shares in Samsung C&T Corp, the de facto holding company of Samsung Group, opened down 3.2 percent compared with the wider market's.

RESTRUCTURING. Samsung Group, a key driver of Asia's fourth-largest economy, has been engaged in a restructuring process as it clears a succession path for Lee to assume control after his father, Lee Kun-hee, was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014.

Samsung is also the world's biggest maker of memory chips and flat screen TVs. Lee's arrest gives a boost to prosecutors who have zeroed-in on Samsung Group to build their case against President Park and her close friend Choi Soon-sil, who is in detention and faces charges of abuse of power and attempted fraud.

They accused Samsung of paying bribes totaling 43 billion won to organizations linked to Choi to secure the government's backing for a merger of two Samsung units.

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