By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee and his son Jae-yong will appear in a Seoul courtroom Tuesday to be questioned over the group's alleged illegal father-to-son wealth transfer.
Jae-yong, a senior vice president of Samsung Electronics, was called as a witness in the sixth hearing of his father's trial at Seoul Central District Court. The special prosecutor has not indicted the ``heir'' of the Samsung Group.
This will be the first time ever that Lee and his son have appeared in the same courtroom.
The questioning is likely to focus on allegations of illegal transfer of control to the 39-year-old through the 1995 sale of convertible bonds of Samsung Everland, the group's de facto holding company, at a giveaway price. At that time, major shareholders of Everland refused to buy the bonds and Jae-yong later bought them at a lower-than-market price.
Initially, the court was set to make a ruling after five hearings, but additional ones were convened as the battle between the prosecution and defense became fiercer. Both sides are calling in additional witnesses to support their arguments.
Choi Hak-rae, a former president of the progressive Hankyoreh Daily, and Sohn Byung-doo, the president of Sogang University, will also appear as witnesses.