Samsung executives to be questioned by Korean prosecutors

Samsung Electronics Co. executives have been summoned by South Korean special prosecutors amid a widening influence-peddling scandal that brought about South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment.

The company’s Co-Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung and President Chang Choong-ki were asked to come in for questioning, Hong Jung-seok, a spokesperson for the special prosecutors office, told Bloomberg News via text message yesterday. Choi and Chang are expected by 10 a.m. today and they will come in as testifiers, meaning they have not been accused of wrongdoing. This status may change, Hong said.

The summons follows last month’s parliamentary grilling of  Jay Y. Lee, de-facto head of Samsung Group, and a co-vice chair of Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest maker of mobile devices. Lawmakers fired questions to Lee on whether the country’s biggest conglomerate received political favors in return for donations to foundations controlled by Choi Soon-sil, the president’s friend at the center of the scandal. Lee had denied allegations during the hearing.

A Samsung Group spokeswoman declined to comment when contacted by the Bloomberg News. Jung Park, Bloomberg

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