Asia markets finished mostly lower on Friday, as Samsung Group shares were in focus following the arrest of its chief.

Jay Y. Lee was arrested early on Friday over his alleged role in a corruption scandal that led parliament to impeach President Park Geun-hye, according to Reuters.

Samsung and Lee have denied wrongdoing in the case.



In a statement after the arrest, a Samsung spokesperson said, "We will do our best to ensure that the truth is revealed in future court proceedings."

Shares of the flagship business — Samsung Electronics — closed down 0.4 percent at 1,893,000 Korean won. (The won traded at 1,145.95 against the dollar.)

Shares of Samsung SDI climbed 0.8 percent, Samsung Electro-Mechanics was up 0.7 percent, Samsung C&T was off by 2 percent and Samsung Engineering fell 1.2 percent.

Analysts told CNBC on Friday that Lee's arrest is unlikely to have an impact on Samsung's global brand. Fitch Ratings added in a note that the news had no immediate impact on Samsung Electronics' credit rating, but said it could negatively affect investor sentiment in the short term.

"As Samsung Electronics' (SEC) credit profit is based on its fundamentals and strength of its businesses, negative sentiment on SEC could be offset by the company's solid performance," Fitch said in the note.

The broader South Korean market was mixed, with the Kospi finishing near flat at 2,080.58 and the Kosdaq climbed 2.12 points, or 0.34 percent, to 618.70.

