President 'colluded with friend'

Prosecutor says Samsung chief sought to bribe Park over merger

SEOUL - Republic of Korea's President Park Geun-hye colluded with a friend to take bribes from Samsung aimed at cementing Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong's control of the conglomerate, the special prosecutor's office said on Monday, paving the way for Park to be prosecuted if removed from office.

The findings of the 70-day probe directly accuse the impeached Park of wrongdoing on several charges, including the bribery conspiracy implicating Samsung.

Lee was scheduled to go on trial for bribery and embezzlement on Thursday amid a corruption scandal that has rocked the country and led to the impeachment.

Park, 65, has had her powers suspended since her impeachment in December. Should the Constitutional Court uphold the impeachment, she would become the country's first democratically elected president to be thrown out of office, triggering an election in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

A decision was expected as early as this week.

ROK law does not allow a sitting president to be indicted unless she is accused of treason. No formal charges can be brought against her until she is either removed from office or her term ends as scheduled in late February 2018.

Her removal from office would subject her to a fresh investigation by prosecutors.

"Bribery charges related to the president, and the culture blacklist case ... have been transferred to the prosecutors' office," special prosecutor Park Young-soo told a televised news conference.

The special prosecutor also said the president was instrumental in blacklisting more than 9,000 artists, authors and movie industry professionals and excluding them from government assistance that constituted an abuse of power.

In a statement detailing the findings of its investigation, the special prosecutor's office said the National Pension Service voted in favor of a merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015, despite anticipating a $120 million loss.

Charges 'fiction'

"Samsung vice chairman Lee Jae-yong colluded with others including the corporate strategy office chief Choi Gee-sung to bribe the president and Choi Soon-sil with an aim to receive support for his succession by embezzling corporate funds," special prosecutor Park said.

Choi is President Park's longtime confidant.

Lee, 48, pledged $37 million in return for support from Park and Choi for a variety of steps including a merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015 and the 2016 domestic listing of a loss-making drugmaker Samsung Biologics, the special prosecutor said.

Park, Choi and Lee have all denied wrongdoing.

Park's lawyer said on Monday that the prosecutor's charges against her were "fiction" and that she did not receive illicit favors from Samsung.

"Future court proceedings will reveal the truth," Samsung said in a statement, reiterating it did not pay bribes or make improper requests seeking favors.