Lee Geon-Hui

Lee Kun-Hee was the son of Lee Byung-Chul, the founder of Samsung. Kun-Hee studied at Waseda University in Japan and then George Washington University in Washington, DC, USA. After college he joined Samsung and would eventually become chairman of the conglomerate in December 1987, after his father’s death.

In sports, Lee was a wrestler as a youth and became President of the Korean Amateur Wrestling Federation from 1982-97. He became a member of the Korean Olympic Committee in 1982 and served as Vice-President and later was named Honorary President. Lee was named to the IOC in 1996 and served as a member until 2017, at which time he was made an honorary member. He served on the Cultural Commission in 1997 and the Finance Commission in 1998-99. For his work in sports he was given the Olympic Order in 1991 and the Légion d’Honneur of the French Republic in 2004.

Besides his chairmanship of Samsung, Lee held numerous other business positions. He was Executive Director of Joong-Ang Daily News and Tong-Yang Broadcasting Corporation from 1968-78; Vice-Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries starting in 1987; Vice-Chairman of the Korea-Japan Economic Committee (named in 1981); member of the Korea-US Wisemen Council (from 1991); Director of the Korean Youth Association (from 1982); and Vice-Chairman of the Korean Alumni Reunion of Waseda University (from 1997)

Lee’s leadership of Samsung was highly successful in increasing its international presence and market share, and in 2006 Samsung passed Sony to become the world’s largest manufacturer of televisions. However, this leadership was not without controversy.

In 1996 he was convicted for paying bribes to Korean President Roh Tae-Woo, although he was later pardoned by President Kim Young-Sam. In 2008 he was accused of bribing Korean prosecutors, judges, and politicians, and in July 2008 the Seoul Central District Court found him guilty of financial wrongdoing and tax evasion. He was given a three-year suspended sentence but was pardoned in December 2009 by Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.

Lee Kun-Hee returned to lead Samsung in March 2010 until he suffered a debilitating heart attack in 2014, leading to a coma, and Lee Kun-Hee spent his remaining years in very poor health.