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Samsung Family Completes $8 Billion Inheritance Tax Payment in South Korea
The family of Samsung's late chairman has finished paying a 12 trillion won inheritance tax bill over five years. The payment, the largest in South Korea's history, stems from the estate of Lee Kun-hee, who died in 2020. Samsung confirmed the final installment on Sunday.
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The family behind Samsung has completed payment of a 12 trillion won ($8 billion) inheritance tax bill, the largest such settlement in South Korea's history. Chairman Lee Jae-yong and other family members, including his mother Hong Ra-hee and sisters Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun, made the payments in six installments over the past five years.
The tax is linked to the estate of the company's late chairman Lee Kun-hee, who died in October 2020.
Kun-hee left a fortune valued at 26 trillion won, including shares, property, and art collections. At the time of the tax announcement, the family stated that paying taxes is a natural duty of citizens. Samsung confirmed the final payment on Sunday, noting that the total amount equals about 1.5 times South Korea's total inheritance tax revenue for 2024.
Samsung is South Korea's largest chaebol, with operations in electronics, heavy industry, construction, and financial services. The company's technology division produces computer chips, smartphones, and televisions. The Lee family's combined net worth exceeds $45 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Their wealth has more than doubled in the past year, driven by demand for computer chips from the global artificial intelligence industry, which increased the stock value of Samsung Electronics.
Group was founded in 1938 by Lee Byung-chul, the grandfather of current leader Lee Jae-yong. Lee Jae-yong now serves as executive chairman of Samsung Electronics.
