Samsung Electronics' sponsorship of the equestrian daughter of a longtime friend of President Park Geun-hye has helped to land South Korea's top company in the center of the country's influence-peddling scandal.
Samsung agreed in 2015 to pay $18 million to Core Sports International, a consulting firm controlled by Park's friend Choi Soon-sil, who is in jail and faces charges of abuse of power and fraud in a criminal trial that began in December.
On Tuesday, South Korean authorities said they will proceed with steps to extradite Choi's daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, who lives in Germany and was arrested in the northern Danish city of Aalborg on Sunday. Public prosecutors there said on Monday that Chung will remain in custody for four weeks.