Ailing Samsung chairman Lee passes away at 78
Print Edition
LEE Kun-hee, the ailing Samsung Electronics chairman who transformed the small television maker into a global giant of consumer electronics but whose leadership was also marred by corruption convictions, died yesterday. He was 78.
Lee died with his family members by his side, including his only son and Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the company said in a statement.
Samsung didn’t announce the cause of his death, but Lee had been hospitalized since May 2014 after suffering a heart attack and the younger Lee has been running Samsung, South Korea’s biggest company.
“All of us at Samsung will cherish his memory and are grateful for the journey we shared with him,” the Samsung statement said. “Our deepest sympathies are with his family, relatives and those nearest. His legacy will be everlasting.”
South Korean President Moon Jae-in offered a floral tribute and send two senior presidential officials to console Lee’s family yesterday after a mourning site is established, Moon’s office said.
Lee’s family said the funeral would be private but did not release details.
Lee inherited control of the company from his father, and during his nearly 30 years of leadership, Samsung Electronics Co became a global brand and the world’s largest maker of smartphones, televisions and memory chips. Samsung sells Galaxy phones while also making the screens and microchips that power its major rivals — Apple’s iPhones and Google Android phones.
Lee leaves behind immense wealth, with Forbes estimating his fortune at US$16 billion as of January 2017. He was convicted in 2008 for illegal share dealings, tax evasion and bribery designed to pass his wealth and corporate control to his three children. In 1996, he was convicted of bribing a former president. But in both cases, he avoided jail after courts suspended his sentences.
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