Samsung insurance arm raided in corruption probe

SEOUL, Jan 25 (Reuters) - A South Korean special counsel raided an insurance arm of Samsung Group on Friday as a part of its probe into whether the country's largest conglomerate may have bribed public officials, the company said.

Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance Co (000810.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a non-life insurance firm, is the latest in a series of high profile targets raided by the special counsel that included the home and office of the country's richest man, Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

Officials at the special prosecutor's office would not confirm the raid. A Samsung Fire and Marine official said investigators were searching its offices but declined to elaborate.

South Korea's parliament approved the probe in November after a former top Samsung legal executive accused the group of using its subsidiaries to create a slush fund and paying off public officials to avert investigations into its management practices.

Samsung has called the allegations groundless.

The raid began before dawn and just hours after public broadcaster KBS quoted a Samsung official, who alleged the insurance firm may have secretly withheld money from clients and channelled it to slush fund accounts. (Reporting by Jessica Kim and Jack Kim; Editing by Alex Richardson)