over their roles in a corruption scandal that has engulfed President Park Geun-hye.
Dozens of
protesters surrounded by riot police met Lee, 48, who was wearing a dark coat
and navy tie as he arrived at the Seoul Central District Court to attend the
hearing.
South Korea's
special prosecutor's office has focused its investigations on Samsung Group's
[SAGR.UL] relationship with Park, who was impeached by parliament in December
and has been stripped of her powers while the Constitutional Court decides
whether to uphold her impeachment.
Prosecutors
accuse Lee in his capacity as the head of South Korea's largest conglomerate of
pledging 43 billion won ($37.7 million) to a business and organizations backed
by Park's friend, Choi Soon-sil, in exchange for support of a 2015 merger of
two Samsung companies.
That funding
includes Samsung's sponsorship of the equestrian career of Choi's daughter, who
is in detention in Denmark after being sought by South Korean authorities.
Park, Lee,
Choi and Samsung Group all deny any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors
have also sought an arrest warrant for Samsung Electronics Co Ltd president
Park Sang-jin, who also heads the Korea Equestrian Federation and arrived for
the hearing after Lee.
Neither man
answered questions from reporters.
It is the
second time in a month the special prosecutor's office has sought Lee's arrest.
The same Seoul
court rejected its request for a warrant in January but a spokesman for the
special prosecutor's office said on Wednesday it had since expanded the charges
against Lee to include hiding the proceeds of a criminal act, as well as
bribery, embezzlement, hiding assets overseas and perjury.
Two groups of
protesters - one calling for Lee's arrest and another carrying South Korean
flags and demanding that the warrant request be dismissed - stood outside the
courthouse in southern Seoul.
After the
hearing concludes, Lee and Park Sang-jin were expected to await the court's
decision in a detention center, a prosecution spokesman said. The decision may
come late on Thursday or early Friday, based on previous instances.
On Wednesday,
Samsung Group repeated an earlier denial on its official Twitter account:
"Samsung has absolutely never bribed the president seeking something in
return or sought illicit favors."
"We will
do our best for the truth to be revealed in court," it said.
The corruption
scandal erupted late last year and has engulfed South Korea's political and
business elite. Park, who remains in the presidential Blue House, could become
the first democratically elected leader in South Korea to leave office in
disgrace.
If Lee is
arrested it could also deal a serious blow to Samsung, the world's biggest
maker of smartphones, memory chips and flat-screen televisions, potentially
hampering strategic decision-making such as new investments and acquisitions.
REUTERS*
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