From today, Samsung requires all donations over 1 billion won ($883,680) to be approved by the board of directors and for payments to be shared publicly via South Korea's financial regulator. Previously, only payments over 680 billion won ($600.9 million) needed the thumbs up from the board.

The company says those steps will "enhance the transparency of the management of such donations and funds and to strengthen the compliance" -- making it more accountable by allowing transfers to be scrutinized by outside parties.

Samsung's actions come after vice chairman Lee Jae-yong (better known as Jay Y. Lee) was arrested for allegedly donating 43 billion won ($38 million) in bribes in 2015 to companies backed by Choi Soon-sil, friend and adviser to President Park Geun-hye, in order to ingratiate himself and promote his rise inside the company.

It's not the first time a high-ranking official has been embroiled in a financial scandal. In 2008, Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, who then served as the company's chief executive, was accused of using a 200 billion won (roughly $200 million) budget to bribe prosecutors and politicians into ignoring the company's financial wrongdoing.

Despite facing a seven-year jail sentence and a 350 billion won ($310 million) fine, Lee, who is Korea's richest man, received a suspended three-year sentence and was told to pay just 110 billion won ($97.4 million) in damages.

Lee Jae-yong is now being held in a detention center while he waits for proceedings to come to an end. It's believed it could take as long as 18 months for a trial and verdict to be reached.