Lee Kun-hee, Samsung Chairman, has died at the age of 78. This announcement was made by Samsung Electronics, saying he died on the 25th of October with his family including his son, vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong, at his side.
Lee Kun-hee is hailed as the person who transformed the South Korean firm into a global tech titan. In 1987, he inherited the chairmanship of the Samsung group which was founded by his father as a fish and fruit exporter.
According to the company in a statement, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Kun-hee Lee, Chairman of Samsung Electronics. Chairman Lee passed away on October 25 with his family, including vice-chairman Jay Y. Lee, by his side.”
“Chairman Lee was a true visionary who transformed Samsung into the world-leading innovator and industrial powerhouse from a local business,” the firm said, adding: “His legacy will be everlasting.”
Lee was South Korea’s richest man with a net worth of US$20.9 billion according to Forbes.
He withdrew from public life after suffering a heart attack in 2014 which incapacitated for many years. Before the heart attack, he was found guilty of bribing President Roh Tae-woo through a slush fund in 1995, and of tax evasion and embezzlement in 2008, but was formally pardoned for each conviction.
It is expected that his son would take over but he has also been embroiled in legal troubles linked to a merger of two Samsung affiliates that helped Lee assume greater control of the group’s flagship Samsung Electronics. He also served jail time for his role in a bribery scandal that triggered the impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye
Samsung is the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates, or chaebols, that dominate business in South Korea.
