As Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee passed away today (25th), the'Era of Lee Jae-yong,' led by his son Jae-yong Lee, led by Samsung, has begun in earnest.
Vice-Chairman Lee has been leading Samsung since the fall of Chairman Lee Kun-hee in May 2014, and in 2018, he was officially appointed as the same person by the Fair Trade Commission.
After taking the lead in management, Vice Chairman Lee has attempted to make a difference by revealing his own colors through the sale of Samsung defense and chemical affiliates and the acquisition of Harman, an American electronic electronics company.
However, as there are many evaluations that the'Lee Jae-yong regime' is limited to fully established due to the risk of investigation and trial related to Lee and Samsung, Vice Chairman Lee is expected to focus on making changes to'New Samsung' in the future.
Immediate succession of management rights, courts related to Gukjeong Nongdan, and restructuring of corporate governance are among the priorities facing Vice Chairman Lee.
When Chairman Lee dies, interest from inside and outside the business community is drawn to the changes in the governance structure of how the Samsung General Family will deal with the shares held by Chairman Lee.
Chairman Lee is 243,73,200 shares of Samsung Electronics (4.18% stake), 619,000 shares of Samsung Electronics preferred stock (0.08%), 9701 shares of Samsung SDS (0.01%), and 5.255,000 Samsung C&T It holds 733 shares (2.86%) and 41.151 million shares (20.76%) of Samsung Life Insurance.
The tax burden is expected to be over 1 trillion won if the family such as Vice Chairman Lee inherits Samsung shares held by Chairman Lee.
Vice-Chairman Lee and other family members have to pay huge taxes and decide whether to inherit Chairman Lee's shares.
Some of the business community also raises the possibility that the family of the general manager of Samsung could give back a significant portion of Lee's stake as a social contribution.
I am also interested in the reform of the governance structure.
In May, Vice Chairman Lee said in a public apology for the suspicion of succession of management rights and the issue of the union, saying, "I will not allow any more controversy over the succession of management rights."
Currently, the ruling party is also pushing for revision of the insurance industry law in line with Samsung's governance structure.
If this law is passed, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine must sell all of their shares of Samsung Electronics except 3% of their total assets.
However, currently, Vice Chairman Lee has been handed over to trial on charges of acquiring management rights by merging Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in an illegal and expedient manner. There are many prospects that it will take quite some time.
(Photo = Yonhap News)