Samsung Group to invest $27-28 bln in 2008-paper

SEOUL, April 24 (Reuters) - Samsung Group [SAGR.UL], South Korea's top business group, plans to invest 27 trillion to 28 trillion won ($27-$28 billion) this year in facilities and research, Korea Economic Daily reported on Thursday.

The combined investment by Samsung companies includes more than 10 trillion won to be spent by flagship Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the paper said citing an unnamed Samsung official.

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest maker of memory chips and large liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, said in January its 2008 investment was expected to reach more than 11 trillion won on a consolidated basis.

Group-wide investment by Samsung stood at 22.6 trillion won in 2007, according to Korea Economic Daily.

Samsung is finalising investment plans after a three-month prosecutor probe into corruption allegations at the group.

Samsung Group's chairman Lee Kun-hee said on Tuesday he would step down after 20 years of leading the giant conglomerate, after his indictment last week for tax evasion and breach of trust. (Reporting by Rhee So-eui; Editing by Keiron Henderson)