Lee Kun-Hee, the chairman of Samsung, a tycoon considered by some to be more powerful than South Korea’s President, has endured a humbling day of questioning as his sprawling business empire is investigated for alleged bribery.

It was the second time in five days that the intensely private Mr Lee has faced investigators, whose unprecedented inquiry into Korea’s largest family-run business empire began in January.

Some believe that the investigation, which, rarely for the Seoul corporate world, was triggered by an in-house whistleblower, could eventually lead to the break-up of the Samsung Group.

The company has come to symbolise the extraordinary stranglehold of thechaebolstructure on the Korean industrial world. The Samsung chaebol, which comprises 59 operations and includes the huge electronics brand and world’s second-biggest shipbuilder, has combined assets worth about 140 trillion won (£70 billion).

At the very least, say analysts, it could prompt sweeping corporate changes that would have been unthinkable as recently as last year. Muttered accusations of bribery, stock manipulation, tax evasion and dirty tricks have always surrounded South Korea’s mighty chaebol.

It is only latterly that the old framework has appeared at all fragile, and even now Korea’s passionate national pride in its biggest chaebol could insulate Samsung’s top management from catastrophe at the hands of prosecutors.

The chaebol were the industrial monsters created under General Park Chunghee – the former South Korean leader who guided the country through its “miracle” economic expansion during the 1970s. Several chaebol chairmen have been successfully prosecuted for a variety of crimes in recent years, though little jail time has been served and all remain at the helm of their empires.

Adding to the oddity of the Samsung investigation is the fact that it is taking place within the first few months of the presidency of Lee Myungbak who swept to power with promises of a more business-friendly stance than his predecessor.

Sensational revelations from the Samsung investigation could represent the new president’s first significant challenge, particularly if they implicate senior members of the judiciary in bribery allegations.

The inquiry follows allegations by one of Samsung’s own legal team that the company had created a 200 billion won slush fund used for bribing government officials – an accusation denied by Mr Lee and the Samsung Group.

The whistleblower also accused the Lee family of using corporate money to buy art pieces worth about £30 million. Mr Lee’s wife, the director of the Leeum (Lee Family) Art Museum, has been questioned in recent days.

A secondary investigation is underway into alleged connivance between Mr Lee and his son, Jae Young Lee, to gain control of certain key parts of the Samsung empire for a price well below their true market value. Two senior Samsung figures have been convicted for their role in that scam, although Jae Young Lee was recently cleared of involvement.

Mr Lee, 66, effectively inherited the company from his father 20 years ago. It is credited for the transformation of the Samsung electronics brand from a poor relation of its Japanese counterparts to their most feared competitor.

If nothing else, the bribery investigation has already exposed the fantastically complex web of financial relationships that weave the Samsung Group together. It is a lattice that may not survive the transfer of power from Mr Lee to his son.

Do Hoon Lee, of Macquarie Securities, said one possible scenario is that Samsung’s notoriously convoluted ownership structure could be consolidated under a holding company: a transition that has remained elusive for legal and cultural reasons.

As arrangements stand, the Samsung Group has a “circular” ownership maze, in which the electronics, life insurance, credit card and theme park businesses each hold controlling stakes in one another.

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