| Lee Kun-hee | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 9, 1942 Uiryeong, South Korea |
| Alma mater | Waseda University |
| Occupation | Chairman of Samsung |
| Net worth | $7.4 billion USD |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 이건희 |
| Hanja | 李健熙 |
| Revised Romanization | I Geon-hui |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yi Kŏnhŭi |
Lee Kun-hee (born January 9, 1942) is Chairman of Samsung Electronics. He resigned on April 21, 2008 owing to Samsung Slush funds scandal, but returned on March 24, 2010. Lee has a degree in economics from Waseda University in Tokyo and attended an MBA course at George Washington University in the United States in 1966 without earning a degree. He speaks Korean, English, and Japanese. In 1996, Lee became a member of the International Olympic Committee. With an estimated net worth of $7.4 billion, he and his family rank among the Forbes richest people in the world. He is the third son of Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull.
An avid sportsman, he was instrumental in the successful third attempt to bring the 2018 Winter Olympics to Pyeongchang.
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On January 14, 2008, Lee's home and office were raided by the Korean police for an ongoing probe into accusations that Samsung is responsible for a slush fund used to bribe influential prosecutors, judges, and political figures in South Korea.[1] After the second round of questioning by the South Korean prosecutors which occurred on April 11, 2008, Lee was quoted by reporters saying "I am responsible for everything. I will assume full moral and legal responsibility.” This is unlike his statement during his first summon on April 4, 2008 in which he bluntly denied allegations against him for his role in the Samsung Slush Funds scandal.[2] It is believed that Lee is looking for resignation as the CEO of Samsung. On April 21, he officially resigned, and stated: "We, including myself, have caused troubles to the nation with the special probe; I deeply apologise for that, and I'll take full responsibility for everything, both legally and morally."[3]
On July 16, 2008, The New York Times reported that the Seoul Central District Court found him guilty on charges of financial wrongdoing and tax evasion. Prosecutors requested that Lee be sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $347 million. The court fined him $109 million and sentenced him to 3 years suspended jail time. Lee has not responded to the verdict.[4]
On December 29, 2009, the South Korean government moved to pardon Lee Kun-hee to help Pyeongchang's bid for hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics.[5] However, IOC decided to suspend his right to participate any IOC commission meeting for five years.[6]
On March 24, 2010, he announced his return to Samsung Group as its chairman.[7]
In the early 1990s, believing that Samsung Group was overly focused on producing massive quantities of low-quality goods and that it was not prepared to compete in quality, Lee famously said "Change everything except your wife and kids". The shift is now widely considered a success. One of the group's subsidiaries, Samsung Electronics, is now one of the world's leading developers and producers of semiconductors, and was listed in Fortune magazine's list of the 100 largest corporations in the world in 2007.
In an interview, Lee expressed pride in the fact that Samsung attracts the brightest minds in South Korea, but added that his new goal is to attract talent from all over the world to ensure that Samsung will remain one of the top companies in the world for years.
However, instead of foreign talent, Lee put his own children into key positions at Samsung.[8] As of 2010, his son Lee Jae-yong is President and COO of Samsung Electronics. Lee Boo-jin, his eldest daughter is President and CEO of Hotel Shilla, a luxury hotel chain, as well as President of Samsung Everland, a theme park and resort operator that is "widely seen as the de facto holding company for the conglomerate" according to Associated Press.[8] His other daughter, Lee Yoon-hyung, committed suicide in 2005 because he had forbidden her to marry her Korean boyfriend; he did not attend her funeral.
His siblings and some of their children are also executives of major Korean business groups. His eldest brother's son is currently chairman of the CJ Group, a company holding businesses in food, beverages and entertainment. His second eldest brother's sons ran Saehan Media, one of the largest blank media producers. His older sister is the owner of Hansol Group, the country's largest paper manufacturer and producer of electronics and telecommunications. One of his sisters is married to Koo Ja-hak, brother of former chairman of the LG Group and himself a former chairman of LG Semiconductor. He is currently running one of the largest food services firms in Korea. His younger sister, Lee Myung Hee is currently the chairman of the Shinsegae Group, the largest retail company in Korea, with major holdings such as the Shinsegae Department Stores and E-Mart. In late 2005, Lee spent time being tested for cancer at the MD Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Texas.
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