Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong arrested in bribery probe

Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong arrested in bribery probe

The billionaire heir to Samsung Lee Jae-yong has been arrested on suspicion of bribery. In a blow to the world’s biggest smartphone maker, Lee Jae-Yong, chairman at Samsung Electronics and the only son of Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, was formally arrested after the Seoul central district court issued a warrant on Thursday night.

Mr. Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and son of the Samsung group head Lee Kun-hee, is accused of paying nearly $36 million in bribes to PresidentPark's secret confidante to secure policy favors.

Those are alleged to include government support for a merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015 that helped Mr. Lee, 48, inherit corporate control from his incapacitated father, Lee Kun-hee, the chairman.