Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong questioned in succession-related investigation
- Prosecutors say Samsung Biologics had breached accounting rules to raise the value of its major owner Cheil Industries
- Cheil merged with de facto group holding company Samsung C&T in a 2015 transaction that enabled Lee to become the top shareholder of Samsung C&T, they say
Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong was questioned on Tuesday by prosecutors about a controversial 2015 merger and alleged accounting fraud that they said may have helped him advance his succession-planning agenda at the country’s top conglomerate.
The questioning brings fresh legal trouble for Lee who is already facing court trial over a charge of bribery aimed at winning support to succeed ailing group patriarch Lee Kun-hee, and which involved former South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
Prosecutors have been investigating suspected accounting fraud at drug company Samsung Biologics, after the Korean financial watchdog complained the firm’s value had been inflated by 4.5 trillion won (US$3.64 billion) in 2015.
They have alleged that Biologics had violated accounting rules to help improve the value of its major owner Cheil Industries, which counted Lee as its top shareholder, said Yonhap news agency, which first reported Lee’s questioning.
Cheil, Samsung Group’s fashion and theme-park operator, merged with de facto group holding company Samsung C&T in a 2015 transaction that enabled Lee to become the top shareholder of Samsung C&T.