Samsung heir goes on trial for bribery charges

SEOUL AFP March9, 2017- The heir to the Samsung business empire denied all charges in connection with a wide-ranging corruption scandal, his lawyers told the first court hearing on his case Thursday.   

Lee Jae-Yong, 48, was not present at Seoul Central District court for the hearing, and is being held in custody as his giant company -- the world’s biggest smartphone maker -- struggles to recover from a recall scandal.   

Lee, the vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, faces accusations of bribery, corruption, perjury and other offences stemming from a scandal that has seen President Park Geun-Hye impeached. Four other Samsung executives have also been charged.   

 “Everyone denies all the charges,” a defence lawyer told the court at a preliminary hearing which lasted little more than an hour.   

The prosecutors’ formal indictment was sketchy, with some of the accusations lacking clear evidence and only circumstantial, the defence said.   

The accused paid nearly $40 million to Park’s close friend Choi Soon-Sil, allegedly as bribes to secure policy favours.   

Samsung has insisted that the payments were charitable contributions it was obliged to make under pressure from officials, and not bribes.