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Template:Korean name

Lee Kun-hee
Lee attending breakfast with various Korean business leaders, 2013
Born	(1942-01-09)9 January 1942 Ŭiryŏng, South Kyŏngsang, Japanese occupied Korea (present day South Korea)
Died	25 October 2020(2020-10-25) (aged 78) Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea
Nationality	South Korean
Alma mater	Waseda University George Washington University
Occupation	Chairman of Samsung
Spouse	Hong Ra-hee
Children	Lee Jae-yong Lee Boo-jin Lee Seo-hyun Lee Yoon-hyung†
Parent(s)	Lee Byung-chul (1909–1987) Park Du-eul (1907–1999)
Korean name
Hangul	이건희
Hanja	李健熙
Revised Romanization	I Geonhui
McCune–Reischauer	Yi Kŏnhŭi

Lee Kun-hee (Korean: 이건희; Hanja: 李健熙; Korean pronunciation: [iːɡʌnhi]; 9 January 1942 – 25 October 2020) was a South Korean businessman who served as chairman of the Samsung Group from 1987 to 2008 and from 2010 to 2020. He was also a member of the International Olympic Committee. With an estimated family net worth of US$40.8 billion, and the third son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul, he and his family were among the richest people in the world as calculated by Forbes.

He resigned in April 2008, owing to a Samsung slush funds scandal, but returned on 24 March 2010. In May 2014, he was hospitalized for a heart attack. In 2014, Lee was named the world's 35th most powerful person and the most powerful Korean by Forbes's list of the world's most powerful people along with his son Lee Jae-yong.

Lee died on 25 October 2020.

Early life

Lee Kun-hee was born on 9 January 1942 in Daegu, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. He was the third son of Lee Byung-chul, the founder of the Samsung group, which was set up as exporter of fruit and dried fish.

Career

First period at Samsung

Lee joined the Samsung Group in 1968 and took over the chairmanship on 24 December 1987, just two weeks after the death of his father, Lee Byung-chul, who founded the company. In 1993, believing that Samsung Group was overly focused on producing large quantities of low-quality goods and was not prepared to compete in quality, Lee famously said, "Change everything except your wife and kids".

Samsung scandal

On 14 January 2008, Korean police raided Lee's home and office in an ongoing probe into accusations that Samsung was responsible for a slush fund used to bribe influential prosecutors, judges, and political figures in South Korea. On 4 April 2008, Lee denied allegations against him in the scandal. After a second round of questioning by the South Korean prosecutors, on 11 April 2008, Lee was quoted by reporters as saying, "I am responsible for everything. I will assume full moral and legal responsibility.” On 21 April 2008, he resigned and stated: "We, including myself, have caused troubles to the nation with the special probe; I deeply apologize for that, and I'll take full responsibility for everything, both legally and morally."

On 16 July 2008, The New York Times reported the Seoul Central District Court had found Lee guilty on charges of financial wrongdoing and tax evasion. Prosecutors requested Lee be sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 350 billion won (approx US$312 million). The court fined him 110 billion Won (approx US$98 million) and sentenced him to three years' suspended jail time. However, on 29 December 2009, South Korean president Lee Myung-bak pardoned Lee, stating that the intent of the pardon was to allow Lee to remain on the International Olympic Committee. In Lee Myung-bak's later corruption trial, this pardon was revealed to have been in exchange for bribes, and further bribery and other political corruption between Former President Lee and Lee Kun-hee was also exposed.

Think Samsung, a 2010 book by Kim Yong-chul, former Samsung legal counsel, alleged that Lee was guilty of corruption. In particular, it claimed that he stole up to 10 trillion won (approximately US$8.9 billion) from Samsung subsidiaries, tampered with evidence, and bribed government officials to guarantee his son would succeed him.

Return to Samsung

On 24 March 2010, Lee announced his return to Samsung Electronics as its chairman.

As of 2012, Samsung's revenues were 39 times what they were in 1987, accounting for around 20 percent of South Korea's GDP, and Lee was the country's richest man.

After Lee suffered an incapacitating heart attack, his son, Lee Jae-yong, became the Samsung group's de facto leader.

Personal life

Lee Kun-hee's wife, Hong Ra-hee, is the daughter of Hong Jin-ki, the former chairman of the JoongAng Ilbo and Tongyang Broadcasting Company, and Kim Yoon-nam (1924–2012). Kim Yoon-nam died of natural causes at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul in 2012 when she was 88 years old.

Hong Ra-hee majored in applied art at Seoul National University and gained experience as a museum art director in 1995 at Ho-am Art Museum in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The museum was established by Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul in 1978.

His siblings and some of their children are also executives of major Korean business groups. Lee Boo-jin, his eldest daughter, is president and CEO of Hotel Shilla, a luxury hotel chain, as well as president of Samsung Everland, a theme park and resort operator that is "widely seen as the de facto holding company for the conglomerate" according to Associated Press. As of 2010, his son Lee Jae-yong is vice chairman of Samsung Electronics.

Lee has 4 children: the eldest child and the only son Lee Jae-yong (born 1968) and three daughters Lee Boo-jin (born 1970), Lee Seo-hyun (born 1973) and Lee Yoon-hyung (born 1979, died 2005).

Lee's eldest brother's son is currently chairman and CEO of the CJ Group, a company holding businesses in food, beverages and adult entertainment. His second eldest brother's sons ran Saehan Media, one of the largest blank media producers. His older sister is the owner of Hansol Group, the country's largest paper manufacturer and producer of electronics and telecommunications. One of his sisters is married to Koo Ja-hak, brother of a former chairman of the LG Group and himself a former chairman of LG Semiconductor. He is currently running one of the largest food services firms in South Korea. Lee's younger sister, Lee Myung-hee, is chairwoman of the Shinsegae Group, the largest retail company in South Korea, with major holdings such as the Shinsegae Department Stores and E-Mart. His daughter Lee Yoon-hyung committed suicide in Manhattan in 2005.

Lee spoke Korean, English, and Japanese.

Lee's older brother Lee Maeng-hee and older sister Lee Sook-hee initiated legal action against him in February 2012, asking a South Korean court to award them shares of Samsung companies totaling US$850 million (913.563 billion won), which they claim their father willed to them. Court hearings began in May 2012. On February 6, 2014, courts in South Korea dismissed the case.

Health and death

In late 2005, Lee was tested for cancer at the MD Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Texas.

On 11 May 2014, Lee was hospitalized for a heart attack. Five days later, the AsiaN claimed that Lee had died, citing a whistleblower inside the firm. It deleted the article seven months later, saying it was unable to obtain further information to substantiate the claim. Lee remained hospitalized. He died on 25 October 2020, at the age of 78.

References

1. Louis Kraar (12 April 2010). "Lee Kun-Hee South Korean businessman". Britannica. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
2. Chae Yoon-tae (25 October 2020). "이건희 회장 빈소 차려질 삼성서울병원 보니…"50인 미만 가족장으로"". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
3. ^ Herald, The Korea (29 March 2011). "Hong Ra-hee makes comeback as Leeum's director".
4. "Lee Kun-Hee", Forbes (profile), retrieved 13 February 2020
5. Kim Soo-geun (25 October 2020). "이건희 삼성그룹 회장 별세…향년 78세". MBC. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
6. Zhong, Raymond (24 October 2020). "Lee Kun-hee of Samsung Dies at 78; Built an Electronics Titan". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 October 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
7. "Profile: Lee Kun-hee". BBC. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
8. ^ Power, John (7 April 2015). "Is Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee dead or alive?". The Korea Observer. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
9. "The World's Most Powerful People".
10. Goo Gyo-hyung (25 October 2020). "이건희 삼성전자 회장 별세…장례는 유가족 뜻따라 가족장". The Kyunghyang Shinmun. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
11. Zhong, Raymond (24 October 2020). "Lee Kun-hee of Samsung Dies at 78; Built an Electronics Titan". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
12. Byford, Sam (30 November 2012). "King of Samsung: a chairman's reign of cunning and corruption". Retrieved 27 September 2018.
13. Moore, James (8 October 2011). "The business on...Lee Kun-hee, Chairman, Samsung". The Independent. Retrieved 25 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
14. Archived 17 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
15. "Samsung chairman hints at possible resignation : National : Home" (in Korean). English.hani.co.kr. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
16. ^ Byford, Sam (30 November 2012). "King of Samsung: a chairman's reign of cunning and corruption". The Verge.
17. "BBC News – Asia-Pacific – Samsung chief resigns from post". news.bbc.co.uk. 22 April 2008.
18. Sang-Hun, Choe (5 October 2018). "Former South Korean President Gets 15 Years in Prison for Corruption". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
19. "Lee Kun-hee Returns to Samsung Helm". koreatimes. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
20. "Lee Kun-hee". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
21. "JoongAng's late chairman's wife dies". Korea JoongAng Daily.
22. ^ Samsung promotes chairman's son to president Archived 5 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Kelly olsen, AP, 3 Dec 2010
23. "The descendants of the Samsung family lived uncomfortably and their suicides were killed (2)". 24 August 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
24. The Seoul Times : Samsung Chairman's Daughter Kills Herself in November 2005. Retrieved 19 January 2017
25. "Samsung Feud: The Court Case Begins". The Wall Street Journal. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
26. "Samsung boss Lee Kun-hee wins inheritance case appeal". BBC News. 6 February 2014 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
27. "Finding a Cure for Cancer – News – SNU Media – News & Forum – SNU". www.useoul.edu. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
28. "Lee Kun-hee", Forbes.com. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
29. 이건희 삼성 회장 별세…향년 78세

External links

• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People
• "Lee Kun-hee's Big Stick", The Korea Times, 8 January 2006.
• "Samsung chairman's office raided as part of inquiry", International Herald Tribune, 14 January 2008.
• "Samsung chairman hints at possible resignation", Hankoryeh Newspaper, 11 April 2008.
• "www.leekunhee.com" Official personal bio
• "South Korea Plans to Pardon Former Samsung Chairman"

v t e Samsung
Chairmen	Lee Byung-chul Lee Kun-hee Lee Jae-yong
Lee family	Lee Byung-chul Lee Kun-hee Lee Jae-yong Lee Boo-jin Lee Yoon-hyung
Businesses	Electronics Electronics Electro-Mechanics SDI SDS Heavy Industries C&T Heavy Equipments Engineering Financial services Asset Management Card Fire & Marine Life Securities Others Bean Pole Everland Everland Resort Caribbean Bay Hotel Shilla Cheil Worldwide Medical Center Economic Research Biologics Hub Town Global Scholarship Program Divested CJ Joongang Shinsegae Saehan Hansol Sold Spotify Indonesia Defunct Cheil Industries Aerospace Motors Transportation
Affiliated organisations	Ho-Am Art Museum Ho-Am Prize Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art Samsung Scholarship
Sports	Daejeon Samsung Fire Bluefangs Samsung Galaxy Samsung Life Blueminx Samsung Lions Samsung Sports Samsung Training Center Seoul Samsung Thunders Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Other	Sungkyunkwan University trade unions
Category

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• 1942 births
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• South Korean billionaires
• International Olympic Committee members
• South Korean founders of automobile manufacturers
• South Korean criminals
• People convicted of tax crimes
• Recipients of the Legion of Honour
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• Waseda University alumni
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