South Korean prosecutors raided the offices of Samsung Group following media reports of alleged links with a confidante of President Park Geun-hye who has been indicted in an influence-peddling scandal, a prosecution official said.
According to Aljazeera, Wednesday’s raid comes as Samsung faces allegations that it bribed Park’s confidante Choi Soon-Sil to win state approval for a controversial merger it sought last year.
Prosecutors also raided South Korea’s largest pension fund, the National Pension Service (NPS), a spokesperson said. The NPS oversees funds worth $461bn, making it the world’s third largest service of its kind.
The Yonhap news agency reported that investigators were probing NPS’s decision to approve the $8bn merger of Samsung C&T Corp and Cheil Industries last year.
The raids signalled that prosecutors are expanding their investigation into allegations of influence-peddling in the corruption scandal that has rocked Park’s presidency over the relationship between the government and big businesses.
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