With heirs to the Samsung empire facing a colossal amount of inheritance tax on stocks owned by their late father Lee Kun-hee, the market is closely watching how they will raise the necessary funds to pay it. Any moves they make are likely to affect the market. Samsung Group Chairman Lee, who died Sunday, left Samsung affiliate stocks valued at 18.2 trillion won ($16.1 billion) as of Friday closing. Questions have been raised on how Lee’s heirs -- particularly his only son, Samsung Ele

Shares in Samsung Group's key affiliates closed higher Monday on expectations that they may increase dividend payouts to help the late Samsung chief's scions secure funds to pay record high inheritance taxes and they may overhaul their governance structures. Samsung Group chief Lee Kun-hee died Sunday at age 78, more than six years after being hospitalized for a heart attack. Shares in three Samsung affiliates held by the late group chief spiked in the morning session as investors bet that th

The market capitalization of Samsung Group under the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s leadership of 27 years grew nearly 350 times, as the corporate empire he built turned into a global information technology powerhouse from a mere home appliance maker. The combined market value of the conglomerate’s affiliates -- including crown jewel Samsung Electronics and construction firm Samsung C&T -- reached 318.7 trillion won ($282.4 billion) in 2014, when the late chairman had a heart atta

Today’s Samsung Electronics stands as one of the world’s leading conglomerates, but at the time Lee Kun-hee took the helm of Samsung Group in 1987, the company was in need of radical change. Though Lee was born in Daegu in 1942 as the third son of Lee Byung-chull, founder of Samsung Group, it was perhaps his bold instincts for change and survival that made his father change his mind and bequeath the throne to Lee, bypassing his two older brothers. During his childhood, Lee was se

Questions immediately followed the death of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee as to whether there will be any changes in the conglomerate’s governance structure. However, the changes are expected to not be extensive at the moment, as Lee Jae-yong essentially already has control over the group. The Samsung Group ownership family, however, could find ways to transfer at least some of the deceased’s financial assets to his son, Lee Jae-yong, which would further support the family&rsq

Lee Kun-hee, the late chief of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group, was the wealthiest man in the country, data showed Sunday. The total value of stocks held by Lee, who died at a Seoul hospital after being bedridden following a heart attack in 2014, stood at 18.2 trillion won ($16.1 billion) as of Friday, according to the Korea Exchange data. By company, Lee held a 4.18 percent stake in the conglomerate's crown jewel, Samsung Electronics Co., worth 15 trillion won, 20.76 percent in S

As Samsung chief Lee Kun-hee passed away, his heirs, including his only son, Jae-yong, and his sisters will shoulder a record high amount of inheritance tax, industry sources said Sunday. Lee Kun-hee, who led South Korea's top family-controlled conglomerate Samsung Group, died at a hospital in Seoul on Sunday at age 78, leaving behind stock assets of some 18 trillion won ($15.9 billion). The senior Lee is survived by his wife, Hong Ra-hee, and only son, Jae-yong, and two daughters -- Boo-jin a

Lee Kun-hee, the architect of now South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, had been making headlines in the country's business, social and even political realms since taking over the helm of the business empire from his father for his offbeat approaches and business insights. Lee inherited the Samsung crown in 1987 at the age of 45 when his father Lee Byung-chull, founder of the present day Samsung Group, died. Under his leadership, the group has the world's largest smartphome and memory

Large South Korean companies have actively engaged in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) this year despite the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak, industry data showed Wednesday. Big businesses in Asia's fourth-largest economy spent a combined 11.45 trillion won ($9.7 billion) in 52 M&A cases in the first eights months of this year, according to the data from CEO Score. Big spenders include KB Financial Group Inc., a major South Korean banking group, which took over Prudential L

The push by some lawmakers to revise the Insurance Business Act is weighing down on the nation’s largest life insurance firm, Samsung Life Insurance, as the insurer would have to offload a large part of its Samsung Electronics stake, now worth nearly 30 trillion won ($25.3 billion). The move recently caused Samsung Life stock prices to fluctuate heavily, partly on speculative buying in anticipation that Samsung Life’s valuation will grow higher in the long run as a result of the sel

Seven Korean companies, including Coupang and LG Chem, have narrowed their revenue gap with global No. 1 companies over the past five years, data showed Wednesday. Local corporate tracker CEOScore surveyed revenues of the world’s No. 1 companies and No. 1 firms in Korea in their respective fields from 2014 to 2019. The results showed that Korean companies narrowed the sales gap with the global No. 1 companies compared to five years ago in seven industries: including chemicals, pharmace

The chief of the pharmaceutical group Celltrion saw the value of his stock holdings rise the most among the heads of South Korea's major business groups in the first half, data showed Thursday. Seo Jung-jin held 5.85 trillion won ($4.9 billion) worth of listed shares in group flagship Celltrion Inc. and other affiliates as of end-June, up 116.4 percent from the start of the year, according to the data from market researcher CXO Institute. Seo also became the third-richest stockholder in South

A court’s rejection of the prosecution’s request to arrest Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday, appears to have temporarily cleared uncertainties surrounding the chip giant’s operations, a local brokerage said in a report. The de facto heir to the Samsung empire was released early morning after the Seoul Central District Court’s decision to try Lee without arresting him, citing insufficient probable cause. “As Lee avoided arrest, he is expe

Around 20 CEOs of Samsung Electronics and its affiliates on Monday attended a lecture by the head of the presidential council on economic, social and labor affairs, according to the company. The South Korean tech giant invited Moon Sung-hyun, chairperson of the presidential Economic, Social and Labor Council, and arranged a special lecture for the leaders of affiliates, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam, Samsung C&T CEO Lee Young-ho and Samsung Life Insurance CEO Jeon

South Korean financial giant Mirae Asset Group is likely to resume its drive to launch a mega-sized investment bank as authorities on Wednesday decided not to request a prosecutorial probe for conducting illegal intra-unit trading and instead chose to slap a light penalty. The nation’s antitrust watchdog Fair Trade Commission said it has imposed a fine of 4.39 billion won ($3.6 million) on financial conglomerate Mirae Asset Financial Group and its affiliates for violating rules that ban