Things are going from bad to worse for Lee Jae-yong, 48-year-old vice chairman and presumed heir of Samsung Group. After spending a whopping 22 hours being questioned by authorities over an alleged bribery scandal that led to the request for an arrest warrant of Lee, the billionaire is yet again being grilled by investigators over his potential role in the seedy events that transpired.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, Lee was summoned to speak with a prosecutor on Sunday and finished with questioning on Monday morning. The Samsung VP reportedly had “a grim look on his face.”
The bribery accusations stem from an investigation that led prosecutors to claim Samsung spent over $36 million in 2015 to sway government sentiment surrounding a merger of Samsung affiliates Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries. Along with Lee, Samsung Electronics president, Park Sang-jin, and Samsung’s deputy director of corporate strategy, Chang Choong-ki, have been spotted arriving for additional questioning.
Previously, investigators sought an arrest warrant for Lee, but a court denied the request based on insufficient evidence. After this latest round of questioning wrapped up, the prosecutors were still undecided if they would once again request a warrant for the billionaire’s arrest.
Samsung, for its part, has remained stern in its denial of any wrongdoing. The company has repeatedly issued statements claiming that it “did not make contributions in order to receive favors” by the government. However, with enough evidence mounting to lead prosecutors to consider taking the matter to court, it’s impossible to know exactly how this will all pan out.
