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Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who made the South Korean company a global name, has passed away at the age of 78.
Under Lee’s leadership, Samsung became the world’s largest producer of smartphones and memory chips, with a total turnover equivalent to one-fifth of South Korea’s GDP.
Known for a lonely lifestyle, Lee was left bedridden from a heart attack in 2014. Little was revealed about his condition, leaving him shrouded in mystery even in his final days.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Kun-hee Lee, president of Samsung Electronics,” said a statement from the company.
“President Lee passed away on October 25 with his family, including Vice President Jay Y Lee, by his side … His legacy will last forever.”
Samsung is by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates. These chaebols dominate business in South Korea and fueled its transformation from a war-torn ruin to the world’s twelfth-largest economy. Today they are under scrutiny for shady political ties and stifling competition, with Lee himself convicted twice of criminal offenses, in one case for bribing a president.
When Lee inherited the group’s chairmanship in 1987, founded by his father to trade in fish, fruits and noodles, Samsung was already the largest conglomerate in the country, with operations ranging from consumer electronics to construction.
Lee sharpened his focus and took it global: When he suffered a heart attack in 2014, he was the world’s largest maker of smartphones and memory chips. It is also a major global player in semiconductors and LCD displays.
Lee rarely ventured outside the high walls of his private compound in central Seoul to visit the company’s headquarters, earning him the nickname “Hermit King.”
His son, Samsung Electronics Vice President Lee Jae-yong, has been at the helm of the company since the heart attack in 2014.
The son was jailed for five years in 2017 after being convicted of bribery and other crimes related to former President Park Geun-hye, before being acquitted of the most serious charges on appeal and released a year later. That case is being re-tried.
With Associated Press
