November 22, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] A Seoul court on April 7 held the first hearing on Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on charges of bribery in relation to the influence-peddling scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye.

The Samsung heir appeared at the Seoul Central District Court, along with four other senior Samsung executives, early in the morning. 

He was arrested and indicted in February on charges of offering a combined 43.3 billion won (US$38.30 million) to Park’s close friend Choi Soon-sil as kickbacks in return for helping his secure more control over the nation’s largest conglomerate through a merger of two key units last year.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)