Samsungs Ownership Succession Faces Probe
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
The prosecution Tuesday said that it will expand its investigation to Samsung Group's ownership succession from its chairman Lee Kun-hee to his only son Jae-yong.
The prosecution will form a special investigation team to probe Samsung's alleged bribery and slush fund creation, which was initially raised by a former employee of the conglomerate and civic groups.
``It's a hard task. But we will do our best so that no one will call for an independent counsel for the investigation as it affects the reputation of the prosecution as a whole,'' prosecutor Park Han-chul told reporters when he visited the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to meet with Prosecutor-General Chung Sang-myung.
Park was designated to lead a special team to investigate the allegations of Samsung. He promised the process would be thorough and would deal with three main suspicions _ illegal management succession, slush fund creation and bribery.
He said the special investigation team will be ready by the end of this week, consisting of experienced prosecutors.
But many civic groups called for an independent counsel to secure fairness and independence in the investigation as there have been allegations that Samsung has regularly bribed incumbent prosecutors.
The probe was initiated by former Samsung insider Kim Yong-chul's recent revelations that the nation's largest conglomerate has systematically offered bribes to politicians, prosecutors and government officials.
Kim announced that he will hold a news conference on Wednesday to disclose more details about the Samsung's alleged bribery. It will be the fourth conference in cooperation with the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice after it first raised the allegations against Samsung.
Meanwhile, a former legal secretary of President Roh Moo-hyun Tuesday also confirmed he had received a bribe from Samsung Group in 2004, which he returned shortly thereafter.
Lee Yong-chul, the former legal affairs secretary, held a news conference at the office of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society in southern Seoul and detailed the bribe offer, something Samsung has denied.
The conference came a day after he initially raised the allegation, through some 60 NGO groups, that he received five million won in cash from Lee Kyung-hoon, Samsung Electronics' lawyer, in 2004 as a gift for Lunar New Year's Day.
But shortly after this Samsung denied this allegation claiming Lee Kyung-hoon is now studying in the U.S. after quitting the company, and the bribe offer has nothing to do with the conglomerate.