Lee Kun-hee was bedridden with a heart attack in 2014.
Seoul:
Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee, who turned the South Korean company into a global tech titan, died on Sunday at the age of 78, the company said.
Under Lee’s leadership, Samsung has grown to become the world‘s largest producer of smartphones and memory chips, and the company’s overall revenue today equals one-fifth of South Korea’s GDP.
Known for his reclusive lifestyle, Lee was bedridden with a heart attack in 2014. Little has been revealed about his condition, leaving him shrouded in mystery even in his last days.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Kun-hee Lee, president of Samsung Electronics,” the company said in a statement.
“President Lee passed away on October 25 with his family, including Vice President Jay Y. Lee, by his side.”
“President Lee was a true visionary who transformed Samsung into a global leader in innovation and industrial strength of a local business,” the company said, adding, “Its legacy will be eternal.
Samsung is by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates, or chaebols, that dominate business in South Korea.
They drove the country from war-ravaged ruin to the world‘s 12th largest economy, but are today accused of obscure political ties and stifling competition – Lee himself has been twice convicted of charges. criminal offenses, in a case of bribing a president.
‘Hermit King’
When Lee inherited the chairmanship of the Samsung Group in 1987 – founded by his father as an exporter of fish and fruit – it was already the country’s largest conglomerate, with operations ranging from consumer electronics to construction.
But Lee focused it and took it globally: By the time he suffered a heart attack in 2014, he was the world‘s largest manufacturer of smartphones and memory chips. It is also a major global player in semiconductors and LCD screens today.
Despite this, he rarely ventured from 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 of 2014.
Lee was jailed for five years in 2017 after being convicted of bribery and other offenses related to former President Park Geun-hye, before being cleared of the most serious charges on appeal and released a year later .
This case is currently the subject of a new attempt.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
