Lee Kun-Hee, the chairman of the Korean electronics giant Samsung, has been charged with tax evasion and breach of trust but cleared of bribery.

A three-month investigation into South Korea's biggest business group cleared them of allegations by Kim Yong-Chul, a former Samsung lawyer turned whistleblower, that it created a multi-million dollar slush fund to bribe prosecutors and judges.

Speaking to reporters before the findings were released, Mr Lee, 66, said he would think "deeply" about a reshuffle of Samsung's management. Asked whether he would resign, he said he would "think about it."

The hugely influential group accounted for more than 20 per cent of South Korea’s total exports last year.

Mr Lee was charged with evading 112.8 billion won (£58 million) in taxes, and breaching a fiducary duty because he knew about illegal sales of bonds by a company affiliated with Samsung.

Special prosecutor Cho Joon-Woong said that Mr Lee and nine other executives who were charged with similar offences, which carry a 5 year minimum prison sentence, would remain free pending trial.

Mr Cho said that the group would stay out of jail because they had admitted most of the charges against them, and the fallout from their arrests would be enormous.

South Korean special prosecutors gave details of the charges after investigating claims by Samsung's former chief lawyer, Kim Yong Chul, that the group had diverted at least 200 billion won into a fund to bribe politicians and other government officials.

Samsung apologised for "causing concerns" as a result of the investigation, and said it would give details next week of measures to introduce greater transparency.

Campaign groups which backed the allegations expressed dismay, describing the results as "disappointing and pathetic."

"The core truth of this is bribery," said Kim In-Guk, head of the Catholic Priests' Association for Justice, a religious group which had spearheaded a campaign against Samsung's alleged wrongdoing.

The investigation, which began in January, found that Mr Lee had assembled personal assets worth 4.5 trillion won (£2.3 billion) in bank accounts under other names, and that he had avoided paying tax on income from the trading of Samsung Group stocks.

Mr Lee had also breached a duty because he was aware of alleged illegal transactions, including the sale of bonds convertible to shares to his son, the report found.

"Samsung Group has a lot of structural problems, such as illicit transfer of management control,” the prosecutors said in a statement. "It is the hope of our investigation team that this probe would serve as an opportunity for Samsung to shed these problems and be reborn."

Analysts said it was unlikely Mr Lee would receive a jail term, because South Korean judges had in the past taken a lenient attitude towards corporate bosses convicted of wrong doing.

The trial has captivated the attention of the public in South Korea, with activist groups forming both for and against the prosecution of Mr Lee and the group.

Scores of riot police were posted outside the special prosecutor's office.

It is not the first time Mr Lee, who is the head of South Korea's richest family, has brushed with the law. In 1996, he was convicted of bribing two former South Korean Presidents, and received a two-year prison sentence, which was suspended for three years. He was later pardoned by President Kim Young Sam.

While Samsung is best known for electronics, it is also one of the world's largest shipbuilders, and has a global workforce of 254,000.

Annual profits total more than $12.9bn (£6.5bn) and it accounts for about a fifth of all South Korean exports.

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