(dpa) - Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun Hee was questioned Friday for the second time by prosecutors in a bribery investigation.
Lee, 66, went directly into the prosecutors' offices in Seoul without answering journalists' questions, unlike when he was questioned Friday. On that day, the head of South Korea's largest conglomerate rejected charges of bribing public officials from a multimillion-dollar slush fund to deter investigations into the company's management practices.
After the 11-hour questioning, however, Lee apologized and said he would accept the results of the investigation.
The National Assembly in November approved the independent investigation into the group, to which the world's largest maker of liquid crystal displays and second-largest chipmaker, Samsung Electronics Co, belongs.
The inquiry must be wrapped up by April 23.
The conglomerate - which is also involved in shipbuilding, construction, financial services and the chemical industry - was accused by one of its former lawyers, Kim Yong Chul, and citizens groups of establishing bank accounts amounting to 200 billion won (205 million dollars) in the names of its managers and other employees and using the money it deposited in them to bribe public officials.
Also under investigation are securities transactions. Lee's only son, Lee Jae Yong, was questioned in February over a 1995 transaction involving the transfer of convertible bonds of Everland, an amusement park that is Samsung's de-facto holding company.
The elder Lee transferred the bonds below market value and without paying proper tax to Jae Yong and two daughters, prosecutors charged, saying the low-priced sale helped the chairman improperly transfer wealth to his son.
Samsung, which produces a quarter of South Korea's exports, has rejected all charges.