SAMSUNG FOUNDER LEE KUN-HEE DIES AT 78

Lee Kun-hee, who built Samsung Electronics into a global powerhouse in smartphones, semiconductors and televisions, died on Sunday (October 25, 2020) after having spent more than six years in the hospital following a heart attack, the company said, Joyce Lee, Cynthia Kim and Hyunjoo Jin reported for Reuters. 

Lee, who was 78, grew the Samsung Group into South Korea’s biggest conglomerate and became the country’s richest person. But he was also convicted of bribery and tax evasion, and he and the empire he built were vilified for wielding huge economic clout, opaque governance and dubious transfers of the family wealth. 

“Lee is such a symbolic figure in South Korea’s spectacular rise and how South Korea embraced globalization, that his death will be remembered by so many Koreans,” said Chung Sun-sup, chief executive of corporate researcher firm Chaebul.com. 

Samsung Group affiliates’ 326.7 trillion won ($289.6 billion) in 2019 revenue was worth about 17% of South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to Fair Trade Commission (FTC) data and a Reuters calculation. Lee died with his family by his side, the conglomerate said.