Top Samsung executives reportedly offer resignations over corruption scandal

It has been a tough few months for Samsung. The company has been under investigation by South Korea's special prosecutor's office as it looks into claims of Samsung giving tens of millions of dollars in bribes to win the government's support for a key merger between two of its affiliates. The prosecutor's office submitted an arrest warrant request for Samsung Electronics vice chairman and the conglomerate's heir Lee Jae-yong last week after unearthing new evidence and it was granted by the court. Lee Jae-yong has since been placed behind bars and has been questioned again.

Samsung now appears to be in damage control mode. The company today announced a series of steps that it's going to take in order to make its corporate social responsibility and financial donations more transparent. According to a report, two top executives have also offered their resignation to take responsibility for Samsung's involvement in the corruption scandal.

According to the report, Samsung Group Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung and President Chang Choong-gi have both offered to resign and take responsibility for the conglomerate's involvement in the scandal. Both have already been identified as suspects by the country's special prosecutor in connection with the probe that led to vice chairman Lee Jae-yong's arrest last week.

The report doesn't mention if both executives have formally submitted their resignations yet or if they will remain with the conglomerate in some other capacity. Samsung has not yet commented on this report so it's unclear whether the resignations have actually been offered or not.

Adnan Farooqui - Executive Editor

[email protected]

First Samsung device: SGH-E900

Adnan Farooqui is a long-term writer at SamMobile. Based in Pakistan, his interests include technology, finance, Swiss watches and Formula 1. His tendency to write long posts betrays his inclination to being a man of few words.

Via Business Lee Jae-yong Samsung Electronics