Samsung heir indicted over controversial 2015 merger

Seoul: South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday indicted Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong on charges of stock price manipulation and other financial crimes, setting up what could be a protracted legal battle to determine whether the 52-year-old billionaire illegally cemented his control over the business giant. Lee’s attorneys denied the charges, which were also filed against 10 other current and former Samsung executives, describing them as “investigators’ one-sided claims." They maintain that a controversial 2015 merger between two Samsung affiliates that helped Lee increase control over the...