A special prosecutor on Thursday indicted the chairman of Korean conglomerate Samsung Group on charges of tax evasion and breach of trust. The prosecutor also had been investigating bribery accusations, but brought no charges in that matter. A company attorney triggered the probe when he blew the whistle on several fraudulent bank accounts.
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Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun Hee was indicted Thursday on charges of tax evasion and breach of trust, but a special prosecutor dropped bribery charges against him in an investigation of South Korea's largest conglomerate.
Lee, 66, used nearly 1,200 accounts under other people's names to carry out profitable stock transactions and avoid 113 billion won (US$114.3 million) in taxes, prosecutor Cho Joon Woong charged.
Samsung had also been accused of regularly bribing public officials, but Cho said his team of investigators were unable to prove those accusations in their three-month inquiry.
'An Astronomical Amount'
Nine other top Samsung managers, including vice chairman Lee Hak Soo, were indicted for their alleged roles in illegal practices by the company.
"The charges levied today involve an astronomical amount of money and are very serious crimes that deserve heavy punishment in court," Cho's team said in its report.
Its breach of trust charge stemmed from its accusations that Lee Kun Hee played an important role in the illegal transfer of power at Samsung to his only son, Lee Jae Yong.
Attorney Blew Whistle
The inquiry was launched after one of Samsung's former attorneys, Kim Yong Chul, accused the company of establishing bank accounts amounting to 200 billion won in the names of its managers and other employees and using the money it deposited in them to bribe public officials.
The National Assembly in November approved the independent investigation into the group, which includes the world's largest maker of liquid crystal displays and second-largest chipmaker, Samsung Electronics.
The conglomerate -- which is also involved in shipbuilding, construction, financial services and the chemical industry -- denied the charged leveled against it.
Lee Kun Hee and the other Samsung executives are not to be jailed before their trials because such arrests would cause "enormous disruptions" in the running of Samsung, prosecutors said.
Although scandal-plagued, Samsung, which produces a quarter of South Korea's exports, is also an object of national pride.
Chairman Lee Kun Hee was indicted Thursday on charges of tax evasion and breach of trust, but a special prosecutor dropped bribery charges against him in an investigation of South Korea's largest conglomerate.
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