Samsung family pays off record $8bn inheritance tax bill
The family controlling South Korea’s Samsung conglomerate has fully settled a record inheritance tax bill of 12 trillion won (about £6bn or $8bn), the largest of its kind in the country’s history.
Chairman Lee Jae-yong, along with family members including his mother Hong Ra-hee and sisters Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun, paid the tax in six instalments over a five-year period.
The liability stems from the estate of the late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, who passed away in October 2020.
Samsung is South Korea’s largest chaebol, a family-owned conglomerate with business interests in electronics, construction, heavy industry, and financial services.
Lee Kun-hee left behind assets worth around 26 trillion won, including shares, real estate, and valuable art collections.
At the time of his death, the family stated that paying taxes is a “natural duty of citizens.”
On Sunday, Samsung confirmed that the final payment had been completed, noting that the total amount is roughly one and a half times South Korea’s total inheritance tax revenue for 2024.
With an inheritance tax rate of 50%, South Korea has one of the highest rates globally.
The settlement was closely followed by investors, as it raised questions about whether the payment would affect the Lee family’s control over Samsung.
Part of the estate, including artworks by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, was donated to the National Museum of Korea and other cultural institutions.
The Lee family’s combined wealth is estimated at over $45 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Their fortune has more than doubled over the past year, boosted by a surge in demand for semiconductor chips driven by the global artificial intelligence industry, which has increased the value of Samsung Electronics shares.
Samsung’s operations include semiconductor manufacturing, one of the world’s largest smartphone businesses, and a major television production arm.
The Samsung Group was founded in 1938 by Lee Byung-chul, the grandfather of current chairman Lee Jae-yong.
Source: BBC
About The Author
