Samsung head Lee Jae-yong charged with bribery, embezzlement and hiding assets overseas

Four other Samsung executives also charged

Prosecutors in South Korea have formally charged Samsung Group's vice chairman Lee Jae-yong and four other executives with bribery, embezzlement and hiding assets overseas.

Lee was arrested on February 17 after fresh evidence emerged in a long-running political bribery scandal which was accepted by the Seoul Central District Court. He has been held in custody since that date.

Investigators had been looking into accusations that Lee had channelled money totalling 43bn won (£30.2m) to the government of President Park Geun-hye via a non-profit charitable foundation run her associate Choi Soon-sil in order to secure backing for a corporate merger of two Samsung units. Lee had already admitted funding the equestrian career of Ms Choi's daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, in Denmark, and buying her a horse.

President Park was impeached in December and stripped of her presidential powers as a result of the scandal. A final decision by the Constitutional Court on whether the impeachment will stand is expected in March, according to Reuters.

Lee Jae-yong, who is 48, is the de facto head of Samsung Group having taken over the running of the company from his father Lee Kun-hee, who suffered a heart attack in 2014 but who remains official leader of the South Korean electronics giant.

The other executives to be charged are Samsung Group vice chairman Choi Gee-sung, president Chang Choong-ki and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd president Park Sang-jin and executive vice president Hwang Sung-soo.

"The five executives will face charges including bribery, embezzlement and hiding assets overseas", Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for the special prosecutor, told Reuters, adding that Lee Jae-yong will also be charged with committing perjury before parliament.

Samsung has not yet provided a statement about the announcement.

The news of the formal charges against the five has had little immediate effect on the markets, with Samsung shares ending slightly higher on Tuesday. However, there are fears that other family-run South Korean companies will come under the spotlight as the scandal widens.