S.Korean prosecutors close to seeking Samsung heir arrest

Seoul, Jan 15 (IANS) The South Korean Prosecutor's office investigating a corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her friend said on Sunday that they are close to deciding whether to seek an arrest warrant against Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong on bribery charges.

According to Yonhap news agency, the prosecutors said the decision could come as early as Monday and that they are in the "final" review process regarding the warrant, taking into account various factors, including the possible impact of the arrest of Vice Chairman Lee.

"We plan to make a decision on whether to seek the warrant before a regular press briefing tomorrow (at 2.30 pm on Monday)," Lee Kyu-chul, the spokesman for the probe team in the case, said.

"We are taking into account all of issues raised so far, but the most important factor for us to consider is the law and principle," he added.

The de facto leader of Samsung Group allegedly gave billions of won (South Korean currency) to various organisations linked to Park's confidante, Choi Soon-sil, in return for the government's backing of a controversial merger of two Samsung affiliates in July 2015.

The group has acknowledged providing funds to the organisations but denied they were a bribe.

Lee was grilled by the special prosecutors for 22 hours until early Friday. The charges under consideration include bribery and, depending on the source of the funds, embezzlement and breach of trust.

Lee is accused of giving false testimony during a parliamentary hearing in December, when he claimed to have "never" made donations expecting something in return.

Meanwhile, special prosecutors are poised to summon Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun and former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon, possibly this week over the allegations that the Park administration had blacklisted certain cultural figures.

They have been looking into the suspicion that Cho and Kim were involved in the alleged creation and management of a blacklist intended to block dissident artists from getting state support, said the report.