Samsung Heir, Testifying at His Trial, Denies Bribery Charges<br />Mr. Lee added that 95 percent of his work “was related to Samsung Electronics and its related affiliates.”<br />Choi Gee-sung, the former chief of the Future Strategy Office and once chief executive of Samsung Electronics’ digital media division, testified earlier Wednesday<br />that he had signed off on the donations without informing Mr. Lee<br />The merger of the subsidiaries, Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, made Mr. Lee, a third-generation heir, the biggest shareholder in the combined entity<br />and bolstered his grip on Samsung Electronics, a major manufacturer of smartphones.<br />Mr. Lee, vice chairman of the conglomerate’s crown jewel, Samsung Electronics, was indicted in February,<br />accused of offering $38 million in bribes to Ms. Park and her confidante, Choi Soon-sil.<br />Taking the witness stand on Wednesday for the first time since his trial began in April, he denied having<br />bribed Park Geun-hye, then South Korea’s president, to keep his control of the business empire.<br />On Wednesday, he distanced himself from the merger<br />and the monetary contributions to the foundations controlled by the president’s inner circle, saying he had little knowledge of those matters, the South Korean news agency Yonhap said.
