Anchor: Prosecutors probing allegations that Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong engaged in shady dealing to assume control of the corporate giant filed charges against the conglomerate's heir apparent. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday indicted but did not detain Lee on charges of unfair trading, stock price manipulation as well as misappropriation.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: Prosecutors suspect Samsung management lowered the share prices of Samsung C&T while inflating that of Cheil Industries ahead of a 2015 merger.

Investigators said Tuesday the merge was to help Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong gain control of the conglomerate empire through the multilayered circular shareholdings of Samsung's business divisions. 

[Sound bite: Lee Bok-hyeon - chief, economic crime division at Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Korean/English translation)] 
"The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office today indicted a total of eleven people, including vice chairman Lee Jae-yong, Director Choi Gee-sung and other key figures of Samsung's Future Strategy Office, as well as former heads and executives of Samsung C&T and Samsung BioLogics on charges of violating capital market laws, price manipulation, breach of trust, illicit audit and perjury."

Chief investigator of the case Lee Bok-hyeon told reporters that the interests of shareholders were harmed due to the merger. However, the indictment did not lead to any immediate arrests. 

[Sound bite: Lee Bok-hyeon - chief, economic crime division at Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Korean/English translation)] 
"[For the illegal merger], false information was distributed and disadvantageous evidence was buried, shareholders were bought off while illegal lobbying, price manipulation and other unfair trading activities were carried out in an organized fashion." 

The move came despite a recommendation by an independent committee of outside experts in June that the prosecution not indict Lee over succession-related allegations. The prosecution is not legally bound to follow the panel's recommendations but it had done so in the previous eight cases. 

The prosecution said that the clear-cut facts and ample evidence point to the gravity of the case and call for resolving the public's suspicions.  

The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics previously served jail time and was released in 2018 after an appeals court reduced his initial five-year prison sentence from a bribery scandal that also led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye.

The Supreme Court in the following year overturned the lower court’s conviction and ordered the appeals court to review the case.