SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Global credit rating company S&P said Monday that its ratings on Samsung Electronics will not be affected by the arrest of Samsung's heir apparent over his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal that has roiled South Korea in recent months.
S&P said in a statement that Samsung's ratings are not affected by the arrest of the company's vice chairman Lee Jae-yong as the impact will be limited at this stage.
"This event is not likely to affect the company's ordinary operations," said S&P which expected Samsung's strong operating performance in 2017 thanks to solid profitability in its semiconductor business.
Vice Chairman Lee was taken into custody last Friday on multiple charges including bribery.
The Samsung heir is suspected of paying around 38 million U.S. dollars in bribes to President Park Geun-hye and Park's longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil, who is at the center of the influence-peddling scandal that led to Park's impeachment.
Lee's legal team has allegedly denied any quid-pro-quo in the donations to nonprofit foundations and businesses controlled by Choi, but special prosecutors have accused the Samsung's second-generation leader of making the contributions in return for getting support in the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates.
The merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries was opposed by minority shareholders for the devalued prices of Samsung C&T shares to benefit Lee, the crown price of Samsung Group, the country's largest family-controlled business empire.
The merger was narrowly approved thanks mainly to support from the national pension fund, to which nearly half of the country's 50 million population are subscribers, inflicting hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in losses.
The S&P said that if this issue lasts for a prolonged period and leads to a material deficiency in leadership, there could be a negative impact on Samsung's reputation and brand image.
This could cause some delays, the rating company said, in key strategic decisions such as M&As, while potentially undermining Samsung's competitive position in the longer run.
