Lee Kun-hee was a South Korean business magnate who served as the chairman of the Samsung Group from 1987 to 2008, and again from 2010 until his death in 2020. He is also credited with the transformation of Samsung to one of the world's largest business entities that engages in semiconductors, smartphones, electronics, shipbuilding, construction, and other businesses. Since Lee Kun-hee became the chairman of Samsung, the company became the world's largest manufacturer of smartphones, memory chips, and appliances. He was the third son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul. With an estimated net worth of US$21 billion at the time of his death, he was the richest person in South Korea, a position that he had held since 2007.
Lee Kun-Hee, 2013
Young Lee Kun-hee with his father Lee Byung-chul
Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Digital City, Suwon, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South Korean chaebol. As of 2020, Samsung has the world's eighth-highest brand value.
Samsung Town in the Gangnam station area of Seoul
Lee Byung-chul, founder of Samsung
The SPC-1000, introduced in 1982, was Samsung's first personal computer (sold in the Korean market only) and used an audio cassette tape to load and save data – the floppy drive was optional.
The prominent Samsung sign in Times Square, New York City