Office of Samsung chair raided in slush fund investigation

The office of Lee Kun-hee was searched on Monday, as well as the homes of his aides, in an attempt to gain more evidence against the company in an ongoing inquiry.

It is not quite clear where the investigation may lead, however. With the South Korean economy so dependent on Samsung's successes, it is likely to only lead to sanctions rather than a breakup of the company.

Nearly five dozen separate entities have ties to the company in some way, so its power extends deep into the country's financial well being.

Korean special prosecutors assigned to the case suspect that Samsung is keeping a slush fund aimed at funding bribes to keep politicians, government officials, and prosecutors at bay.

Also under investigation is how Lee transferred control of the company over to his son, Jae Yong. Samsung is not commenting on the raids, although the government is maintaining that they were done to collect evidence on the allegations.

The slush fund was said to be used to keep people quiet over the transfer of power between Lee and Jae. The government has little evidence to support this, thus it ordered the raids.

Such raids of the offices of chairmen are quite rare in the country, however the Korean government has found other family-controlled companies guilty of corruption in the past.