LEE KUN-HEE, the chairman of Korean heavyweight Samsung, was indicted on tax evasion charges Thursday.

Special prosecutor Cho Joon-woong alleged that Mr. Lee hid billions of dollars in stock accounts listed under aides' names.

Lee was also charged with criminal breach of trust for his alleged part in arranging for Samsung Group subsidiaries to sell shares to his son, Lee Jae Yong, at unfairly low prices. The special prosecutor charged that scheme was pursued to help Lee's son take over managerial control of the Samsung empire.

Also indicted on related charges were nine other Samsung executives. The Lees and the other executives were not arrested, the special prosecutor said, partly because they admitted wrongdoing and because their arrests would disrupt the management of Samsung, which ships one-fifth of South Korean export trade.

South Koreans both take pride in Samsung as that country's most prominent brand name and deplore the big conglomerate's persistent corruption scandals.

Samsung managers including Lee were mentioned in INQ despatches back in 2001 for financial irregularities, when they were fined $73.5 million. µ

L'Inq
New York Times