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Samsung’s Woes Continue as Investigators Raid Its Korean HQ in Connection With Presidential Scandal

Samsung’s Woes Continue as Investigators Raid Its Korean HQ in Connection With Presidential Scandal

2016 is not turning out to be a good year for South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung, as hot on the heels of their Galaxy Note 7 fiasco comes news that South Korean prosecutors have raided the firm’s headquarters. Officials are in search of evidence the company might have illegally offered gifts to Choi Soon-sil, who faces charges of profiting from her connections to President Park Geun-hye.

Samsung's Woes Continue as Investigators Raid Its Korean HQ in Connection With Presidential Scandal

AppleInsider:

The raid in Suwon follows an unsourced report from Yonhap News, claiming that Samsung provided 3.5 billion won ($3 million) to a company owned by Choi to fund equestrian training in Germany for her daughter, according to Bloomberg. Choi and Park have a long friendship together, but Choi was arrested on Nov. 3, and Park is under pressure to resign from thousands of protesters on the streets.

Samsung is a major corporate force in Korea, its 2013 revenue was worth 17% of the country’s entire Gross Domestic Product. While the company is a familiar name in electronics and appliances in the United States, the firm also has its corporate tentacles in a number of industries, including fashion, insurance, construction, and more.

While the south Korean prosecutor’s raid doesn’t mean Samsung actually did wrong by extending financial gifts to Choi, the investigation adds a few more lumps to the company’s public visage that has already been marred by the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, as well as reports of nine injuries due to defective Samsung branded washing machines.

The recall and permanent shutdown of production for the Note 7 is expected to cost Samsung at least $5.3 billion, and there is no word yet on how much the washing machine-related issues will cost the firm. Samsung faces a bit of brand image rebuilding ahead of it, and that will likely be a slow and deliberate process for the electronics giant.