Prosecutor Says Samsung Scandal a Sign of ‘Chronic Corruption’

South Korea’s special prosecutor accused Jay Y. Lee and other Samsung Group executives of conspiring to create fake documents to mask millions of dollars in bribes funneled to a confidante of the nation’s president.

Lee, the de facto head of Samsung, is alleged to have committed perjury when he said he didn’t know his company had paid money to entities controlled by Choi Soon-sil, and that he wasn’t asked by President Park Geun-hye to provide financial support. The accusations were released Monday by Park Young-soo, the prosecutor spearheading an investigation that’s reached the highest levels of business and government.