Chief of South Korea's Samsung Group denies all charges: Yonhap

The leader of South Korea's Samsung Group conglomerate, Jay Y. Lee, on Thursday denied all of a special prosecutor's charges against him, the Yonhap news agency cited his lawyer as saying at the opening of a hearing against him.
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Court proceedings for the trial of Lee on bribery, embezzlement and other charges, began amid a corruption scandal that has rocked South Korea and led to the impeachment of the president.

Lee, who is being detained at Seoul Detention Centre, was not in attendance.

A defendant's presence is not required during a preparatory hearing, held to organise evidence and set dates for witness testimony.

"It is unclear what kind of order Lee Jae-yong is supposed to have given," a lawyer defending Lee said during the hearing, using his Korean name.

Lee's defence denied all charges against him on his behalf.

The Samsung Group has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

Among the charges against Lee, 48, are pledging bribes to a company and organisations linked to a friend of President Park, Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the centre of the scandal, to cement his control of the smartphones-to-biopharmaceuticals business empire.