Samsung chairman resigns over scandal

Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee speaks during a press conference at the Samsung Group headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday, April 22, 2008. Lee says he will step down from his post to take responsibility for a scandal rocking South Korea's biggest conglomerate.

SEOUL, South Korea (washingtonpost) -- Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee said Tuesday he was stepping down after 20 years as chief of South Korea's biggest conglomerate, quitting in the aftermath of his indictment on tax evasion and other charges last week.

The move, announced to reporters by Lee himself, was both welcomed as a possible sign of more openness at the troubled business group, but also as a cause for worry that Lee's absence may harm South Korea's economy.

The 66-year-old Lee, with about 30 Samsung executives standing nearby, apologized for "troubles to the nation" over an independent counsel investigation into the conglomerate's operations that resulted in the indictment of himself and other Samsung executives last week. full story