The South Korean media is abuzz as the legendary chairman of Samsung is caught up in an alleged prostitution scandal following the release of a secretly recorded series of videos from 2011 through 2013.

According to the story broke by News Tapa, the videos are purportedly from five separate occasions between December 2011 and June 2013 where Lee Kun-hee appears with women at his Samseong-dong mansion as well as other locations in Seoul.

News Tapa said that two individuals, together with one of the unidentified women appearing in the videos, were responsible for the recordings, taken without his consent.

The two women planned to use the videos to blackmail Lee. Samsung said it received the threats but did not respond.

“We apologize for causing the stir involving Chairman Lee Kun-hee,” Samsung said in a statement. “However, the issue is a personal matter of Chairman Lee, so on behalf of the group we have nothing to say.”

The report says the women were paid 5 Million Korean won ($4,400) each for their services during visits to Lee’s residences –which News Tapa says were sex related.

Korean media have also reported that Samsung used the names of high-profile employees to aid in the illicit activities –prostitution is officially illegal in South Korea.

The Samsung Group today issued a formal statement saying:

“We apologize for causing the stir involving Chairman Lee Kun-hee,” it said. “However, the issue is a personal matter of Chairman Lee, so on behalf of the group we have nothing to say.”

According to media reports, two of the women involoved, identified only by their surnames, Sun and Lee, were previously jailed for using illegal drugs in 2014.

You can view the controversial broadcast coverage from News Tapa on their site or on YouTube. (In Korean)

The now 74-year-old Lee, an iconic figure who led Samsung to become one of the largest and most successful companies in the world, has been bedridden with ailing health for more than two years while his son, Jay Y. Lee, has run the Samsung Group.

(updated)

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