SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee died on Sunday, Samsung said. He died with his family, including Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee, by his side, the conglomerate said.
Lee, who was 78, helped grow his father Lee Byung-chull’s noodle trading business into South Korea’s biggest conglomerate. His death came more than six years after he was hospitalised for heart attack.
“Chairman Lee was a true visionary who transformed Samsung into the world-leading innovator and industrial powerhouse from a local business. His 1993 declaration of ‘New Management’ was the motivating driver of the company’s vision to deliver the best technology to help advance global society,” Samsung said in a statement.
Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Joyce Lee; Editing by William Mallard