The founding family of electronics giant Samsung has fully settled a historic inheritance tax bill of about ₩12 trillion (around $8 billion), the largest in South Korea’s history, linked to the estate of late chairman Lee Kun-hee.
Lee Kun-hee, who passed away in October 2020, left behind assets worth roughly ₩26 trillion, including company shares, real estate, and an extensive art collection. Over the past five years, the tax was paid in installments by family members including Lee Jae-yong, Hong Ra-hee, Lee Boo-jin, and Lee Seo-hyun.
At the time, the family described paying taxes as a civic duty. South Korea’s inheritance tax rate stands at 50 per cent, among the highest globally. The final payment was confirmed this week, with Samsung noting that the total tax equals about 1.5 times the country’s inheritance tax revenue for 2024, according to a BBC report.
The settlement was closely watched because of concerns it could affect the family’s control over Samsung, the country’s largest chaebol. The group itself, Samsung, is not a single company but a sprawling conglomerate that spans multiple industries including electronics, construction, insurance, and shipbuilding. Its most important arm is Samsung Electronics, which produces smartphones, televisions, and advanced semiconductor chips that power global AI and computing systems.
Founded in 1938 by Lee Byung-chul, Samsung grew from a small trading firm into one of the world’s most powerful industrial groups. Its dominance in semiconductors, in particular, has strengthened in recent years as global demand for AI-related chips has surged.
Control of the group remains with the founding family and is currently led by Lee Jae-yong, grandson of the founder. Despite the enormous tax burden, the family’s combined wealth has still risen above $45 billion, driven by the strong performance of Samsung Electronics in global markets.
A portion of Lee Kun-hee’s estate, including artworks by Picasso and Salvador Dalí, was donated to national institutions such as the National Museum of Korea.
Samsung today remains one of the world’s most influential technology groups, competing at the highest level in global consumer electronics and semiconductor manufacturing.
(with inputs from BBC)
