According to Asia Pulse(14/8/06)
State prosecutors  may soon summon  Samsung Group Chairman, Lee Kun-hee  for charges of  illicit transfer of wealth. Earlier last week, Hong Seok-hyun, former chairman of the JoongAng Ilbo and former South Korean Ambassador to the U.S., was called in for questioning about why the daily newspaper, a shareholder of Everland, eventually gave up taking over the Everland convertible bonds in 1996. Also late last year, the former and incumbent presidents of Everland were convicted for arranging the illicit bond sale
 

However, until today, no one in Lee’s family has so far been investigated in regard to the case which triggered criticism over the procesecutors’ relatively lenient stance toward the family.

The irregularities involved:

• A deal in which his only son Lee Jay-yong and three of his sisters were able to buy convertible bonds issued by the amusement park operator Everland, Samsung Group’s de facto holding company, at a below-market price in 1996; Everland, South Korea’s largest amusement park, is the largest shareholder of Samsung Life Insurance Co., which owns the biggest single stake in Samsung Electronics. The electronics giant in turn is the largest shareholder of Samsung Card Co., and the card company holds the controlling stake in Everland

As a result of the this deal, it allowed the 38-year-old son to gain control of South Korea’s biggest family-owned conglomerate who  is now senior vice president of Samsung Electronics Co. (KSE:005930), the world’s largest computer memory chip manufacturer .