韓國法庭裁定沒有足夠證據逮捕三星副總裁

A South Korean court Thursday dismissed an arrest warrant request for the head of the Samsung Group, in a case that could affect the impeachment trial of President Park Geun-hye.

Jay Y. Lee, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co. was held for 14 hours in a detention facility before the Seoul Central District Court ruled there was not enough evidence at this time to justify prosecutors' charges of bribery, embezzlement and perjury.

“The court's decision to reject arrest warrant is very regrettable, but we will steadily continue the investigation by taking necessary measures," said a spokesman of the prosecutor's office.

Lee is suspected of paying President Park's influential friend Choi Soon-sil $36 million in return for the president's help to secure the approval of a state-run pension fund for a 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates.

The court's decision on the Samsung case could be a setback for prosecutors in the presidential impeachment trial also underway.韓國一家法庭星期四決定不批准對三星集團負責人的逮捕令，這個案件與朴槿惠總統彈劾案有關。

三星集團副總裁李在鎔在拘留所被關押了14個小時後，首爾中區法院裁定，目前沒有足夠證據爲檢察官提出的行賄、挪用款項和作僞證的指控提供法律依據。

檢察官辦公室發言人說，“法庭駁回逮捕令的決定令我們深感遺憾，但是我們會採取必要措施，繼續進行調查。”

李在鎔涉嫌向朴槿惠總統的密友崔順實支付了3600萬美元，換取總統的幫助，讓國營退休基金批准2015年三星兩個附屬機構的合併案。

法庭這一裁決對於負責朴槿惠彈劾案的檢察官一方是一個挫敗。