Lee Kun-Hee, force behind Samsung rise, dies at 78
Lee Kun-Hee, the ailing Samsung Electronics chairman who transformed the small television maker into a global giant of consumer electronics.
78-year-old Lee died on Sunday. His family was by his side when he died because of heart attack.
The death of the chairman comes at a time when his son, the de facto leader of the Samsung Group, is grappling with legal issues.
A potential restructuring could also be on the horizon over Lee’s stakes in key companies.
Lee Kun-Hee is notorious because of the name Samsung in South Korea.
The chairman of one of the world’s biggest conglomerates died on Sunday at the age of 78, six years after a heart attack hospitalized him.
Company’s statement on Lee Kun-Hee’s death
Samsung didn’t announce the cause of death explicitly.
But Lee had been hospitalized since May 2014 after suffering a heart attack.
The younger Lee has been running Samsung, South Korea’s biggest company.
The company said in a statement;
“All of us at Samsung will cherish his memory and are grateful for the journey we shared with him. Our deepest sympathies are with his family, relatives and those nearest. His legacy will be everlasting.”
South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent senior presidential officials to pass a condolence message to Lee’s family at a mourning site. In the message, Moon called the late tycoon “a symbol of South Korea’s business world whose leadership would provide courage to our companies” at a time of economic difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Moon’s office said.
Lee’s family said the funeral would be private but did not immediately release details.
Lee Kun-Hee inherited control of the company from his father in 1987.
He is credited with transforming Samsung into a global brand and the world’s largest maker of smartphones, televisions and memory chips.
Samsung’s businesses also includes shipbuilding, life insurance, construction, hotels, amusement park operation and more.
Samsung Electronics alone accounts for 20% of the market capital on South Korea’s main stock market.
