SEOUL, South Korea (CWBN)_ Lee Kun-hee, the man behind Samsung’s rise to tech titan, died yesterday (Oct 25), six years after he was hospitalised due to a heart attack in 2014.
“All of us at Samsung will cherish his memory and are grateful for the journey we shared with him,” Samsung said in a statement. “Chairman Lee was a true visionary who transformed Samsung into the world-leading innovator and industrial powerhouse from a local business. His legacy will be everlasting.”
Samsung helped make South Korea’s economy the fourth-largest in Asia. During Lee’s lifetime, Samsung Electronics developed from a second-tier TV maker to the world’s biggest technology firm by revenue; beating Japanese brands Sony, Sharp Corp and Panasonic Corp in chips, and Apple Inc in smart phones.
In addition to electronics, the business encompasses shipbuilding, life insurance, construction, hotels, amusement park operation and more.
Meanwhile, shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and affiliates rose today (Oct 26) as Lee’s death sparked hopes for stake sales, higher dividends and long-awaited restructuring. Shares in Samsung C&T and Samsung Life Insurance soared as much as 21.2% and 15.7% respectively, while shares in Samsung SDS and Samsung Engineering also rose.
Following Lee’s hospitalisation in 2014, the tech giant was run by his son Jay Y. Lee, however, Lee Kun-hee was the top shareholder of Samsung Life with 20.76% stake, while the younger Lee has a 17.3% stake in Samsung C&T.
The Lee family is expected to settle inheritance taxes, estimated at about $8.9 billion for listed stockholdings alone, which sparked hopes for stake sales, higher dividends and restructuring, since the family members might have no choice but to sell stakes in some non-core firms, for tax settlements.
The restructuring process is not expected to kick-off immediately, since the younger Lee is being investigated for fraud, stock price manipulation and allegedly bribing Former President Park Geun-hye.
Edited By Chathushka Perera
