Investigators probing alleged corruption at the massive Samsung conglomerate raided an office of Chairman Lee Kun-hee, an official said Monday, as part of a special probe reluctantly approved last year by South Korea’s president.
Kang Dong-ju, an official with the team carrying out the probe, would say only that a total of eight locations associated with Samsung Group executives were raided. South Korean media said Lee’s home was part of the sweep, though Kang only mentioned an office.
Lee, who late last year marked 20 years at the helm of Samsung, is widely reported to mostly work from his residence. Photos and television footage showed what appeared to be prosecutors entering and later leaving his hilltop Seoul home.
Yim Jun-seok, a Samsung spokesman, said earlier that he could not confirm media reports of the raid and could not be reached later.
Samsung, a conglomerate spanning dozens of companies with interests ranging from construction to shipbuilding, is anchored by Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea’s biggest corporation.
Lee, an iconic business figure in South Korea and a member of the International Olympic Committee, is widely credited over the past decade and a half with turning Samsung Electronics into a global technology force through an emphasis on quality.
The company is the world’s largest manufacturer of computer memory chips, and plays a leading global role in a range of electronics products including flat screen televisions. It ranks No. 2 in mobile phones behind Finland’s’ Nokia Corp.
Investors were mostly unfazed by the raids, pushing shares in Samsung Electronics 1.7 percent higher to 525,000 won ($560), though stock prices of some other group companies fell.
South Korea’s National Assembly in November passed legislation authorizing the independent counsel investigation, which was subsequently signed into law by President Roh Moo-hyun.
The probe, which started last week, came after Kim Yong-chul, a former top legal affairs…