The Samsung group, the largest business conglomerate in South Korea, announced today the death
at the age
of
78
of its president,
Lee Kun-hee
, the richest man in the country who had been admitted
to a Seoul hospital since 2014
due to a heart attack that left him incapacitated.
Samsung said in a statement that Lee "passed away on October 25 accompanied by his family, including vice president (of the group) Jay Y. Lee," known as Lee Jae-yong and that, as heir to the empire led by his father, he has He has been in charge of the conglomerate since his father was bedridden more than six years ago.
Lee Kun-hee, the third son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul, was South Korea's biggest fortune with a net estimated at more than $ 20 billion (about
€ 16.86 billion
), according to Forbes, and he was the man that turned the conglomerate into a multinational entity with the technology giant Samsung Electronics at the helm.
Born in 1942 in Uiryeong County, South Gyeongsang Province (southeast of the country), he assumed the presidency of the group in 1987 after the death of his father.
Responsible for the promotion of the company
Starting in
1993, he
decided to change the course of the business to internationalize it and made Samsung Electronics the
largest producer of memory chips in the world
and one of the
most recognized
consumer electronics brands
.
It is estimated that Samsung Electronics alone currently generates about
20%
of
South Korea's
gross domestic product
(GDP)
.
After suffering a heart attack in May 2014, he was rushed to the prestigious Samsung Medical Center, in southern Seoul, where he remained until his death amid continuous speculation about his health.
Following his passing,
his son Lee Jae-yong
is expected
to officially take
over as president
of the group and Samsung Electronics.
Lee Jae-yong is currently facing two trials for alleged corrupt practices, including his role in the so-called South Korean 'Rasputina' plot, which led to the 2017 ouster of then-South Korean President Park Geun-hye, sentenced to 32 years in prison. .
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