Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong arrives in court for a hearing that rejected detaining him in connection with a controversial merger. SEOUL: A South Korean court on Tuesday declined to issue an arrest warrant for the heir to South Korea's Samsung empire over a controversial merger of two business units seen as a key step to his succession, Yonhap news agency reported.
But the Seoul Central District Court turned down the prosecution's request, ruling there was not sufficient probable cause for his arrest, Yonhap reported. Lee attended the hearing, which Yonhap said lasted for about nine hours, and then awaited the court's decision at a detention centre. He emerged at about 2.40am on Tuesday and gave a brief greeting to reporters but did not answer a question on how he felt about the decision.The merger transaction was seen as helping ensure a smooth third-generational power transfer to Lee, a scion of Samsung's founding family.
The prosecutors' request came weeks after Lee issued a wide-ranging apology for company misconduct and promised to end the line of family succession.