President approves Samsung probe

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7114644.stm

Version 0 of 1.

South Korea President Roh Moo-hyun has approved an independent probe into corruption allegations at Samsung.

The country's national assembly last week voted for legislation forcing the investigation to take place.

Mr Roh, who has previously resisted calls for an independent investigation, said that he would now back one because the bill had been passed.

Samsung denies the accusations which include bribing police and politicians to stop probes into its management.

It is also alleged that the manufacturing firm used a slush fund to finance the bribes.

Co-operation

The new legislation requires an independent investigator to spend up to 125 days looking into the allegations made about the firm.

Its remit includes examining whether the firm made improper payments during campaigning for the 2002 presidential election.

State prosecutors have already begun an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing at Samsung, but in the bill MPs said that this could not "earn the people's confidence".

Samsung said that it would "co-operate" with the investigation.

Local media has reported that prosecutors have banned top Samsung officials from leaving the country.

The investigation comes as South Korean authorities have stepped up anti-corruption activities, going after some of the country's largest companies.

Earlier this year, six Samsung executives pleaded guilty in the US to charges of fixing the price of microchips.

In February, the chairman of Hyundai Motor Company - one of South Korea's biggest firms - was sentenced to three years in jail for embezzlement and breach of trust.

And last year South Korean prosecutors raided the offices of Citigroup in Seoul as part of a probe into the sale of a local bank to a US investment fund.