The Lee family, who run South Korea’s biggest business empire, has officially paid the biggest inheritance tax bill in the country’s history. Samsung Electronics said on Sunday that it had paid off the last part of a huge 12 trillion won ($8 billion) debt. This ends a five-year financial story that global markets have been following closely. The Lee family, the driving force behind South Korea’s largest corporate empire, has officially settled the most significant inheritance tax bill in the nation’s history. Samsung Electronics confirmed on Sunday that the final installment of a staggering 12 trillion won ($8 billion) debt has been paid, concluding a five-year financial saga that has been closely monitored by global markets.
The huge tax bill came about because Lee Kun-hee, the former chairman of Samsung, died in October 2020. He left behind a fortune worth about 26 trillion won, a huge estate that included electronics shares, real estate, and a famous art collection. The family had to give back almost half of that money to the government because South Korea has some of the highest inheritance taxes in the world, at 50%.
Chairman Lee Jae-yong, his mother Hong Ra-hee, and his sisters Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun were in charge of the payment, which was made in six installments. It’s hard to overstate how big the settlement is. Samsung said that the total amount is about one and a half times the total amount of inheritance tax revenue that the South Korean government will collect in 2024.
Investors and analysts kept a close eye on the payments because they were worried that the heirs would have to sell off a lot of their holdings to pay for them, which could weaken their control over the Samsung Group. But the family used their huge net worth, which is now thought to be over $45 billion, to keep control of the conglomerate. Samsung Electronics’ stock price went up a lot over the past year because there was a huge increase in demand for high-end computer chips used in AI. This made their financial situation much better.
Along with the cash payments, the family tried to pay the bill by making large charitable donations. Lee Kun-hee gave a lot of his private property, including works by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, to the National Museum of Korea and other cultural groups.
The “chaebol,” which was founded in 1938, is now in a new phase after this payment is made. Lee Jae-yong will continue to lead the global giant, and the settlement shows that the family is still committed to their “natural duty.” It also makes sure that the company that makes the world’s best smartphones and semiconductors stays under their control.