Evidence Proves More Bribes to Ex-President Lee

Prosecutors have evidence of another bribe Samsung paid in the form of legal fees on behalf of ex-President Lee Myung-bak to cover U.S. litigation involving an auto-parts maker he owned by proxy.

A prosecution spokesman said Samsung paid another W5.1 billion in legal fees on Lee's behalf in addition to a bribe he has already been convicted of (US$1=W1,192).

The earlier charge related to W6.7 billion in legal fees Samsung paid on Lee's behalf to cover the U.S. litigation. A district court sentenced him to 15 years in prison, finding that only W6.1 billion of the money was a bribe.

DAS, the auto parts maker ostensibly owned by Lee's brother, was suing investment consulting firm BBK to retrieve money it had invested. Back in June, prosecutors said Samsung may have paid another W5.1 billion in legal fees for Lee, citing 38 bills Akin Gump, DAS' U.S. lawyers, sent to Samsung's U.S. office to pay.

An appellate court allowed prosecutors to amend the indictment, increasing the total bribes Lee is accused of taking to about W11.9 billion.

Lee's lawyer dismissed the evidence, saying the bills were not originals but duplicates, and it is uncertain how they were written in the first place.

Prosecutors then approached the U.S. Department of Justice in September to confirm the authenticity of the bills with Akin Gump, which has recently said they were genuine, according to a prosecutor here.