[JURIST] South Korea’s special prosecutor is seeking a warrant [Reuters Report] to arrest Samsung Group’s chief Jay Y. Lee [Forbes profile] after accusing Lee of bribing a friend of South Korea’s President, Park Geun-hye [BBC profile]. The special prosecutor’s office claims that Lee paid a total of $36.42 million in bribes to secure the 2015 merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries [corporate websites]; a move which secured Lee’s position as the head of Samsung Group. Lee is also accused of embezzlement and perjury. Lee is scheduled to appear in the Seoul central district court on Wednesday where the court will decide whether the arrest warrant will be issued.

In November, the Parliament of South Korea appointed a special prosecutor [JURIST report] to investigate Geun-hye for allegedly allowing individuals to influence state affairs. Following the launching of the investigation, Choi Soon-sil, a friend of Gun-hye, and two of her aides were charged with [JURIST report] abuse of power, fraud, and coercion. In December, South Korean lawmakers voted to impeach [JURIST report] Geun-hye for sharing confidential information and extorting millions of dollars from large corporations.