Jay Y. Lee, the de-facto head of Samsung Group, became the focus of a public grilling of tycoons in connection with a widening influence-peddling scandal that may cost South Korean President Park Geun-hye her job.
Two hours into Tuesday's parliamentary hearing, lawmakers directed the vast majority of questions toward Lee, while Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo didn't get a single query. Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., said he never ordered donations to be made in return for political favors and rejected allegations he received any wrongful government support to push through a key merger of two Samsung units last year.
Billionaire Lee was among nine tycoons summoned on Tuesday by the National Assembly, which opened a hearing as to why the nation's biggest businesses gave tens of millions of dollars to foundations controlled by Choi Soon-sil, the president's confidante at the center of the scandal.