Latest news with #LeeKunhee
CTV News
17-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
South Korea's top court upholds acquittal of Samsung's Lee over contentious 2015 merger
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong arrives at the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's top court Thursday upheld the acquittal of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on financial criminal charges, ending years of legal disputes over the 2015 merger between Samsung affiliates that solidified his control over the company. In 2024, the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Lee of charges like stock price manipulation and accounting fraud by ruling that prosecutors failed to sufficiently prove the merger was unlawfully conducted with an aim to strengthen Lee's control over Samsung. The Seoul High Court upheld the district court's ruling in February, and the Supreme Court dismissed prosecutors' appeal of the high court's decision Thursday. Its ruling is final and cannot be appealed. Samsung's lawyers said in a statement that they 'sincerely thank' the Supreme Court for 'wisely' ruling on the case. They said the ruling confirmed the 2015 merger was legitimate. Lee, a third-generation corporate heir who was officially appointed chairman of Samsung Electronics in 2022, has led the Samsung group of companies since 2014, when his late father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack. The senior Lee died in 2020. Lee Jae-yong served 18 months in prison after being convicted in 2017 on separate bribery charges related to the 2015 merger. He was originally sentenced to five years in prison for offering bribes to then-president Park Geun-hye and her close confidante to win government support for the merger, which was key to strengthening his control over the Samsung business empire and solidifying the father-to-son leadership succession. Lee was paroled in 2021 and pardoned by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2022. Some shareholders opposed the 2015 merger, saying it unfairly benefited the Lee family while hurting minority shareholders. The Associated Press
The Independent
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Samsung heirs sell Seoul villa to pay South Korea's largest-ever inheritance tax bill
The heirs of late Samsung chair Lee Kun-hee have sold a luxury villa in Seoul 's Itaewon district for 22.8 billion won (£13m) – likely to help pay South Korea 's largest-ever inheritance tax bill of around 12 trillion won (£6.8bn). According to court registry records, the villa is jointly owned by Lee's widow, Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art, and their three children – Lee Jae-yong, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics; Lee Boo-jin, president of Hotel Shilla; and Lee Seo-hyun, head of Samsung C&T's fashion division. It was purchased in 2010 for 8.28 billion won and recently sold at a 175 per cent gain. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's official property transaction database, the sale was finalised on 13 June. The move is part of a broader effort by the Samsung family to liquidate assets, including high-value real estate and shares in group affiliates, in order to meet a staggering 12 trillion won (US$9 billion) inheritance tax, the largest in South Korea's history. Under a government-approved instalment plan, the heirs are allowed to pay the amount over six years. Since 2021, they have sold off company shares, secured loans using stock as collateral, and are now continuing to offload luxury properties. The buyer is reportedly a private-sector entrepreneur, though the property title has yet to be formally transferred, The Korea Herald reported. Set on a 1,073sqm plot with a total floor area of around 497sqm across three levels, the villa sits within an enclave of upscale residences colloquially known as 'Samsung family town'. The recent sale represents a 175 per cent increase in value, translating to roughly 70 million won per pyeong—a traditional Korean unit equal to 3.3sqm. Following Lee Kun-hee's death in October 2020, the property was formally divided among the heirs in May 2021 – his widow received a one-third share, while each of the three children inherited two-ninths. Though the villa was never publicly listed, reports suggest the family quietly began exploring a sale earlier this year. This isn't the family's first sale of prime Itaewon real estate. In 2023, they finalised the transfer of another nearby villa, also part of Lee's estate, which had been discreetly listed in 2021 with an asking price of 21 billion won. The deal closed the following year, although the final sale price was not disclosed. Like the most recent transaction, the property had originally been purchased by Lee in 2010. South Korea's inheritance tax, among the steepest in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), levies up to 50 per cent on inherited assets, rising to 60 per cent when business shares are transferred along with management control rights. In March this year, local media reported that South Korea will overhaul its inheritance tax system in 2028, replacing its estate-based model with an 'inheritance acquisition system' that taxes each heir individually – a shift aimed at improving fairness and aligning with OECD norms. The change, the reports said, addresses current disparities caused by taxing the total estate, where families with multiple heirs face higher tax burdens than single-heir households. The reform will also raise personal deductions, including a fivefold increase for children and a full exemption for spousal inheritances up to 1 billion won. The move is expected to cut annual inheritance tax revenue by 2 trillion won and halve the number of taxable estates.
