Special prosecutors probing claims of corruption at Samsung Group took their investigation to the very top, quizzing its chairman in a lengthy interrogation over allegations the conglomerate paid bribes and engaged in other illegalities. Lee Kun-hee, who has run South Korea’s biggest industrial group for two decades, emerged early Saturday after nearly 11 hours spent in the office of the independent counsel examining the claims raised last year by a former Samsung lawyer. Surrounded by a throng of waiting reporters, the 66-year-old tycoon appeared to backtrack from the strong denials he made Friday afternoon upon arrival for questioning, when he said he had nothing to do with either directing the setting up of a slush fund or ordering the payment of bribes. Besides the slush fund, bribery and art claims, investigators are looking into long-simmering allegations of murky dealings involving the group’s ownership. Samsung consists of dozens of corporations, some unlisted, and has a complex structure involving cross-shareholdings by group companies.
The highly anticipated questioning, which came three months after the start of the probe in January, was widely seen as its climax, though Cho Joon-woong, the investigation’s chief, has until April 23 to collect evidence. Investigators questioned Lee’s wife, who heads a Samsung art museum, for more than six hours Wednesday. His son, an executive at Samsung Electronics Co., brother-in-law and senior Samsung Group officials have also endured hours of questioning. Kim also alleged that Lee’s wife used some of the money to buy expensive works of art from abroad, including “Happy Tears,” by the late pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. Analysts generally believe that Lee himself will avoid prosecution, though say group officials could be indicted if the investigation uncovers wrongdoing.
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