Samsung Slush Funds Confirmed

The special investigation team working on the Samsung slush fund case has confirmed circumstances in which hundreds of billions of won were received and withdrawn from 150 bank accounts under other names.

As the data on tracing bank account records is expected to go to the upcoming prosecutors’ team, the funds’ purpose and use will be disclosed soon.

The investigation team’s head said, “I can say for sure that the actions of the prosecutors’ team have been well founded and proceeded. Most of accusations made by Kim Yong-chul, the former lawyer of Samsung, have turned out to be true.”

When asked which parts are true, however, he said, “I cannot tell the whole story yet.”

Just one month after its establishment, the special investigation team has completed 22 books of investigation records with 11,000 pages. Regarding account fraud, 160 boxes of documents have been submitted.

The team is expected to hand over 79 books of records (42,000 pages) to prosecutors with prosecutors’ documents included.

The team received and executed six arrest warrants at Samsung headquarters, the SDS center in Gwacheon, the data center and the Financial Supervisory Service. Samsung executives including Lee Kun-hee, the group chairman, and Lee Jae-yong, a vice president of Samsung, have been banned from going overseas.

The head of the team dissolved the investigation today, saying, “Under the law, two investigative bodies cannot exist at the same time.”

verso@donga.com