A South Korean court Thursday dismissed an arrest warrant request for the head of the Samsung Group, in a case that could affect the impeachment trial of President Park Geun-hye.
Jay Y. Lee, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co. was held for 14 hours in a detention facility before the Seoul Central District Court ruled there was not enough evidence at this time to justify prosecutors' charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury.
“The court's decision to reject arrest warrant is very regrettable, but we will steadily continue the investigation by taking necessary measures," said a spokesman of the prosecutor's office.
Lee is suspected of paying President Park's influential friend Choi Soon-sil $36 million in return for the president's help to secure the approval of a state-run pension fund for a 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates.
The court's decision on the Samsung case could be a setback for prosecutors in the presidential impeachment trial also underway.