Lee Kun-hee

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This is a Korean name; the family name is Lee.

Lee Kun-Hee (born January 9, 1942) was a former chairman of Samsung Electronics until he resigned on April 21, 2008 owing to Samsung Slush funds scandal. Lee has a degree in economics from Waseda University in Tokyo and attended an MBA course at George Washington University in the United States in 1966 without earning a degree. He speaks Korean, English, and Japanese. In 1996, Lee became a member of the International Olympic Committee. With an estimated net worth of $3.4 billion, he and his family rank among the Forbes richest people in the world. He is the third son of Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull.

Samsung Slush funds scandal

As of January 14, 2008, Lee's home and office were raided by the Korean police for an ongoing probe into accusations that Samsung is responsible for a slush fund used to bribe influential prosecutors, judges, and political figures in South Korea.[1] After the second round of questioning by the South Korean prosecutors which occurred on (April 11), 2008, Lee was quoted by reporters saying "I am responsible for everything. I will assume full moral and legal responsibility.” This is unlike his statement during his first summon on April 4, 2008 in which he bluntly denied allegations against him for his role in the Samsung Slush Funds scandal.[2] It is believed that Lee is looking for resignation as the CEO of Samsung. On April 21, he officially resigned, and stated: "We, including myself, have caused troubles to the nation with the special probe; I deeply apologise for that, and I'll take full responsibility for everything, both legally and morally."^[1]

On July 16, 2008, The New York Times reported that the Seoul Central District Court found him guilty on charges of financial wrongdoing and tax evasion. Prosecutors requested that Lee be sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $347 million. The court fined him $109 million and sentenced him to 3 years suspended jail time. Lee has not responded to the verdict.^[2]

Achievements as CEO of Samsung

In the early 1990s, believing that Samsung Group was overly focused on producing massive quantities of low-quality goods and that it was not prepared to compete in quality, Lee famously said "Change everything except your wife and kids". The shift is now widely considered a success. One of the group's subsidiaries, Samsung Electronics, is now one of the world's leading developers and producers of semiconductors, and was listed in Fortune magazine's list of the 100 largest corporations in the world in 2007.

In an interview, Lee expressed pride in the fact that Samsung attracts the brightest minds in South Korea, but added that his new goal is to attract talent from all over the world to ensure that Samsung will remain one of the top companies in the world for years.

Personal life

He is married to Hong Ra-hee, currently one of the wealthiest women in Korea, who is also an executive director of the Hoam Foundation. He has one son and three daughters. His son is currently vice president of Samsung Electronics, his oldest daughter is a vice president of Samsung affiliated Shilla, a luxury hotel and duty free store, his second daughter is the vice president of Cheil Industries. His youngest daughter, Lee Yoon-hyung, who studied at Ewha Womans University in Seoul and later at New York University, was found dead in her Manhattan apartment on the night of Friday, November 18, 2005, having committed suicide by hanging.^[3]

His siblings and some of their children are also executives of major Korean business groups. His eldest brother's son is currently chairman of the CJ Group, a company holding businesses in food, beverages and entertainment. His second eldest brother's sons ran Saehan Media, one of the largest blank media producers. His older sister is the owner of Hansol Group, the country's largest paper manufacturer and producer of electronics and telecommunications. One of his sisters is married to Koo Ja-hak, brother of former chairman of the LG Group and himself a former chairman of LG Semiconductor. He is currently running one of largest food services firms in Korea. His younger sister, Lee Myung Hee is currently the chairman of the Shinsegae Group, the largest retail company in Korea, with major holdings such as the Shinsegae Department Stores and E-Mart.

In late 2005, Lee spent time being tested for cancer at the MD Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Texas.^{[citation needed]}

Awards

• In September 2006, Lee received the James A. Van Fleet Award from the Korea Society.

Quotes

• "One genius can feed millions of others. For the upcoming era where creativity will be the most important driver of business success, we need to hire the best. The economic value of one genius is more than $1 billion."

• "The business world has changed significantly. It is becoming increasingly difficult to foresee what sectors will prosper or opportunities will arise in the future. But if you hire the best and brightest, you will solve whatever issues arise in the future."

• "It is difficult to understand the true dimensions of a problem or a situation when so many things seem to be happening on the surface. This is why I urge my employees to analyze a given situation from various perspectives. This way of thinking allows one to see the true aspects of a situation, which, in turn, allows one to respond wisely."

• "Firing a CEO because his financial performance was poor is simply a bad decision. I've encountered several situations where a CEO once performed poorly in one sector then went on to perform much better elsewhere. This is one of the reasons Japanese corporations were able to compete successfully against US corporations."

External links

• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People
• "Lee Kun-hee's Big Stick", The Korea Times, January 8, 2006.
• "Samsung chairman's office raided as part of inquiry", International Herald Tribune, January 14, 2008.
• "Samsung chairman hints at possible resignation", hanqyere newspaper, April 11, 2008.
• "www.leekunhee.com" Official personal bio

References