Shares of listed companies belonging to South Korea's Samsung Group rose on Monday. Analysts said that some subsidiaries of the family business group are expected to increase dividends to help the heirs of the late chairman Lee Gun-hee use equity holdings to raise capital to pay inheritance taxes.
Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong (Lee Jae-Yong) holds 17.48% of Samsung C&T's shares, which once soared 21% in early trading. According to the Korea Investment & Securities report, some subsidiaries of the Samsung Group are expected to increase dividends. Samsung Life once rose 16%, Samsung SDS rose 10%, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance) rose 4.9%, and Samsung Electronics rose 1.5%.
Lee Gun-hee, who changed Samsung Electronics from an imitation South Korean electronics manufacturer to the world's largest smartphone, television, and memory chip manufacturer, passed away on the 25th at the age of 78.
The company said in a statement that Lee Gun-hee passed away on Sunday with his family at the time; however, the cause of death was not mentioned. His family will have a private funeral. He has been hospitalized since his heart attack in 2014, and he was treated for lung cancer in the late 1990s.
Lee Gun-hee is the richest man in Korea; strives to cultivate innovation and challengeSonyDuring his time with competitors such as these, he once told employees to “change everything except his wife and children.” According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his net worth is estimated at $20.7 billion. Since Lee Gun-hee had a heart attack, Samsung, Korea's biggest chaeblower, has been taken over by his only son.
“Chairman Lee is a true visionary who has transformed Samsung from a local company into a world-leading innovator and industrial giant,” the company said. “His spirit will live on forever.”
Since Lee Gun-hee was hospitalized in 2014, his son Lee Jae-rong has been the de facto leader of the group, but it is currently unclear whether the latter will take over his father's position, as has been anticipated for a long time. Lee Jae-rong is currently involved in two legal disputes with South Korean prosecutors due to bribery and corruption charges related to inheritance.
In fact, Lee Jae-rong, who denied any wrongdoing, was due to attend the trial in one of the lawsuits on Monday, but is expected to stay in the hospital with his family. Samsung has not revealed who will succeed Lee Gun-hee as chairman.