Samsung chief charged with $ 114m tax evasion. Also helped son gain control

Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun Hee will stand trial for tax
evasion and breach of duty, prosecutors said, after a three-month probe into
allegations of corruption at South Korea’s largest industrial group.

Lee, 66, was charged with evading 112.8 billion won ($ 114
million) of taxes, the special prosecutors said at a press conference in Seoul
on Thursday. Lee is also charged with breach of duty for incurring losses at
Samsung when helping his son gain control of units of the group. Nine other
Samsung executives were also charged. Lee, one of South Korea’s richest men, has
denied the allegations. Samsung Group, which accounted for about 20% of South
Korea’s exports in 2006, said it will reorganise its business and management.
President Lee Myung Bak, who took office in February, pledged during election
campaigning to increase corporate transparency and governance after scandals
involving South Korea’s biggest industrial groups.

(Source : Bloomberg)