Samsung boss ordered to appear before Indian court

The billionaire chairman of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics has been ordered to appear before an Indian court next month in a long-running $1.4-million payment dispute.

At a sitting in New Delhi on Tuesday, the Supreme Court said Lee Kun-Hee must "surrender" before a trial court in the city of Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of the capital, within six weeks.

Lawyers for the Samsung boss—one of South Korea's wealthiest businessmen—had tried unsuccessfully to have the case thrown out of court.

"The petitioner shall appear before the trial court... and seek bail and/or exemption from appearance in accordance with the law," the court said.

There was no immediate comment from Samsung.

Dating back to 2002, the case stems from a complaint by New Delhi-based JCE Consultancy accusing Samsung Electronics of "cheating" the Indian company out of $1.4 million by failing to honour a commitment to pay a bill.

The Supreme Court made no comment on the merits of the case, saying that was up to the trial court to decide.

© 2014 AFP