The Samsung group today announced (25.10.2020) the death of its president, Lee Kun-hee, at the age of 78. The entrepreneur who transformed the conglomerate into a multinational giant was the richest man and one of the most powerful in South Korea.
Samsung said in a statement that Lee died today accompanied by his family, including his eldest son and group vice president, Lee Jae-yong, who has been at the helm of the conglomerate since his father was bedridly prostrate in a bed more than six years ago after suffering a heart attack and is expected to officially inherit his position.
The richest in the country
Lee Kun-hee, the third son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul, owned South Korea’s largest fortune with a net estimated at more than $20 billion (about 16.860 million euros), according to Forbes, and for many he came to hold more power and influence at any given time than the presidents of the Asian country.
Lee will be remembered as the man who inherited a large conglomerate and turned him into a multinational titan with tech giant Samsung Electronics at the helm.
The businessman was born in the latter years of the Japanese occupation, in 1942, in Uiryeong, County of South Gyeongsang Province (southeast of the country) where his family owned large areas of land.
