SEOUL, South Korea - Prosecutors in South Korea have requested the arrest of the de facto head of Samsung, the country's biggest company, on bribery and other charges in the influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachment of the country's president.

A spokesman for the special prosecutors investigating the scandal says that Lee Jae-yong, the Samsung Electronics vice chairman, faces allegations of embezzlement and of lying under oath during a parliamentary hearing in addition to offering bribes.

Samsung is suspected of giving 43 billion won ($36 million) to a long-time friend of the impeached president, Park Geun-hye (goon-hay), while seeking the government's help with a leadership succession within the company to Lee Jae-yong's from his father, who has been hospitalized for more than two years.