With Samsung heir apparent in detention, independent counsel vows strident investigation

Samsung's heir apparent Lee Jae-yong is now under arrest in connection with the massive
corruption scandal gripping Korea.
Our Hwang Hojun who has been reporting from the independent counsel office since last
December is here with us in the studio today.
Hojun.
Good evening Daniel.
We cannot overstate the gravity of this news.
You're absolutely right.
Lee Jae-yong's arrest has sent shockwaves across Korea and abroad as it's expected to
have as-yet untold repercussions not only for the investigation but also on the Korean
economy.
I mean this is the head of the most powerful company in Korea... who's now in police custody.
The Seoul Central District Court approved the arrest warrant requested by the independent
counsel team... in the early hours of Friday morning.
This was the team's second request, which it filed on Tuesday.
In filing for the second warrant, the counsel expanded the charges against Lee to include
diverting assets overseas and concealing the gains from a criminal act.
That's on top of the original charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury the team filed against
Lee with its first arrest warrant request that was rejected last month.
The court explained its ruling via a text message to reporters, saying "the rationale
for and the necessity of Lee's arrest is acknowledged considering the new charges and additional
evidence collected."
So just to refresh everybody's memory, the Korean tech giant is accused of giving nearly
38 million dollars... to entities controlled by President Park's confidante Choi Soon-sil,
in exchange for support of a 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates,.. that's Samsung C&T
and Cheil Industries,... that was deemed critical to cementing Lee's succession to the top of
Samsung Group.
It's the second time the independent counsel sought an arrest warrant.
This was a big battle between Samsung and the probe team
Indeed.
Samsung Group is still denying the charges and the conglomerate's decision-making body,
the Samsung Future Strategy Office, says it will do its best to prepare for the trial
and uncover the truth.
So there may be another battle brewing at this moment between arguably the most powerful
company in Korea and the independent counsel team.
During the team's afternoon briefing today, its spokesperson expressed a renewed determination
in getting to the bottom of Samsung's ties to the case.
Take a look.
"With the arrest warrant issued, the team will be sure to investigate any issues that
haven't been adequately covered.
And of course we will not only indict Lee but will ensure we are still able to prosecute
the case."
The initial mandate for the prosecutorial team to complete its investigation is coming
up soon.
11 days to be exact, Daniel.
The independent counsel filed for a 30-day extension of its original 90-day investigative
mandate on Thursday.
By law, the request for an extension must be made at least three days prior to the deadline
but according to the team's spokesperson, it's not legally a problem to make the request
earlier.
Considering that the team has had the Samsung chief arrested, but has not been able to search
the presidential office premises, a decision made by the Seoul Administrative Court yesterday,
observers are say the request for an extension was necessary.
It will now be up to Hwang Kyo-ahn, the prime minister and the acting president, to decide
whether to grant the one-time extension.
But in the meantime the team vowed to work as fast as it can to connect all of the loose
threads of the case.
Right Hojun, Thank-you for that insight.
My pleasure.

With Samsung heir apparent in detention, independent counsel vows strident investigation

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