Police expand probe into Samsung heiress

Police investgators leave a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul with a box of seized materials, Sunday, after an eight-hour search amid an allegation that Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin habitually received injections of propofol there. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Police searched a plastic surgery clinic, Saturday, as part of an investigation into an allegation that Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin habitually received injections of propofol, an intravenous short-acting anesthetic. Lee is also the oldest daughter of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

Investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency carried out an eight-hour search at the Gangnam-based clinic from 6:30 p.m., Saturday, and confiscated Lee's medical records and the clinic's drug control records.

They conducted a digital forensic analysis to restore deleted data, as well.

Later in the day, police announced they had booked the head of the clinic on the charge of violating the Medical Law.

The search came three days after the drug abuse allegation was first reported by a local media outlet, citing a former employee of the clinic.

According to the report by Newstapa, Lee was regularly given propofol at the hospital from January to October 2016 while the witness worked there. The former employee said Lee received the substance in a VIP room at least twice a month.

In the wake of the allegation, police asked the clinic to submit its documents without seeking a warrant, but it refused to comply.

Hotel Shilla has parried the allegation, claiming that she had only visited the clinic for legitimate treatment.

According to police, while analyzing the secured documents, they also plan to summon former hospital staff for questioning.

In addition, they also plan to question the head of the clinic.

Propofol is widely used for surgery and other medical procedures, but it is illegal to use the medicine other than for these purposes because it is classified as a psychoactive drug.