Special prosecutor says Samsung scandal reveals chronic graft

Seoul

SOUTH Korea's special prosecutor accused Jay Y Lee and other Samsung Group executives of conspiring to create fake documents to mask millions of dollars in bribes funnelled to a confidante of the country's president.

Lee, the de facto head of Samsung, is alleged to have committed perjury when he said he didn't know his company had paid money to entities controlled by Choi Soon-sil, and that he wasn't asked by President Park Geun-hye to provide financial support. The accusations were released on Monday by Park Young-soo, the prosecutor spearheading an investigation that's reached the highest levels of business and government.

The prosecutor has indicted 30 people in an investigation into corruption surrounding the president, in a probe that's led to her impeachment and the detention of Lee, the country's most prominent business leader. It's spurred millions to take to the streets in protest over cosy ties between the government and the family-run chaebol that control much of the country's corporate landscape. The president, Lee and Samsung have…