Prosecutors summoned Samsung Electronics President Chung Hyun-ho on June 11 over his involvement in alleged accounting fraud at Samsung BioLogics. Chung is considered as a key aide to Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office called in Chung earlier in the day to confirm his participation in the destruction of evidence by Samsung BioLogics and its subsidiary Samsung Bioepis.
Prosecutors suspect that Samsung ordered its subsidiaries to destroy evidence at the head level in connection with the alleged accounting fraud.
Judging that the plan may have been mentioned at a meeting presided over by Vice Chairman Lee on May 10 last year, they plan to question specific facts.
Prosecutors confirmed that Samsung BioLogics deleted data that included words such as "JY" (vice chairman Lee Jae-yong), "merger" and "future strategy office" on its employees' laptops and mobile phones and hid the company's public server.
Five Samsung Electronics executives, including Vice President Lee, were arrested on charges of participating in the destruction of evidence.
Chung is serving as the head of Samsung Electronics' Business Support TF (Task Force), which has been cited for leading the destruction of evidence. The TF is an organization that inherited the duties of Samsung Group's future strategy office, which was officially disbanded after the state affairs scandal.
In the past, Chung worked as the head of the management diagnosis team and personnel support team in the future strategy office. While studying at Harvard University in the U.S. in the 1990s, Chung developed a close relationship with Vice Chairman Lee, so that he is classified as one of Lee's closest aides.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics said on June 10, "It was not a meeting that discussed the destruction of evidence or accounting issues at all. We will be faithfully investigated to find out the truth."