2016 is turning out to be a year that Samsung would like to forget. After its problems with exploding Note 7s and failing washing machines, the Korean company has now had its headquarters raided by Korean prosecutors as the company is part of a scandal that involves current South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
Image Source: BBC
According to The Wall Street Journal, South Korean prosecutors have raided both Samsung’s headquarters in the Gangnam area of Seoul as well as the National Pension Service. The raid was done as part of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the merger between Samsung C&T Corp and Cheil Industries that occured last year. In the merger’s early stages, it was contested as being unfair to smaller shareholders. However, the merger was eventually approved due to a vote from the National Pension Service, as the pension fund is the largest single shareholder in the company, controlling 11.2% of the vote in Samsung C&T.
While nothing concrete has been found just yet, South Korean prosecutors believes that President Park and her confidante Choi Soon-Sil has played a roll in using the president’s influece to extort money from some of South Korea’s biggest companies, including Samsung, Hyundai and LG. In the meantime, South Koreans have been taking to the streets, demanding that President Park resign immediately. Park has so far refused to resign, although she has issued an apology of sorts for her actions.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ars Technica, Reuters