South Korea prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for pension chief

[SEOUL] South Korea's special prosecutor's office said on Thursday it has applied for a warrant to arrest National Pension Service Chairman Moon Hyung-pyo, who is under emergency detention, on charges of abuse of power and giving false testimony.

The office told a briefing that Moon had acknowledged ordering the world's third-largest pension fund to support the US$8 billion merger last year of two Samsung Group affiliates while he was head of the health ministry.

Moon had denied during a parliamentary hearing in November that he had exerted pressure on the National Pension Service, which is run by the health ministry, to back the merger as a major shareholder.

REUTERS