Samsung’s Lee Family to Pay ‘Billion Dollars’ Inheritance Tax
The family plans to donate one trillion won to improve public healthcare and 500 billion won to build South Korea's first hospital for infectious disease
According to the family members of late Samsung’s Chairman Lee Kun-hee, they will pay more than $10.8 billio inheritance tax for his estate and donate his vast private art collection to state curators.
Lee transformed the brand Samsung into the world’s largest smartphone and memory chip maker.
The chairman breathed his last breath on October 25 with an estate local media valued at around 26 trillion won.
The inheritance tax bill, known as one of the largest-ever not only in South Korea but globally, has been closely monitored due to its potential to dilute the family’s controlling stake in Samsung.
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One of the family members said, “We have planned to pay the bill over five years in six installments, starting this month as it is our civic duty and responsibility to pay all taxes”.
After the statement released by the family members, the share price of Samsung C&T Corp dropped as much as 5.5%.
Although the family hasn’t specified how are they going to plan on funding the payments and how they will distribute or sell the shares.
Analyst Lee Sang-hun at HI Investment & Securities said, “There was general investor disappointment as no details about how the stakes will be divided were revealed”.
Some assumed that Samsung’s Lee family is going to utilize loans and dividends from both their own and Lee’s shares to pay the tax.
Lee’s shareholding, by value, includes 4.18% of Samsung Electronics, 0.08% of Samsung Electronics preferred shares, 20.76% of Samsung Life Insurance Co Ltd, 2.88% of Samsung C&T, and 0.01% of Samsung SDS Co Ltd.
Samsung announced plans for a large donation to society as Lee stepped down as chairman, after being accused of tax evasion in 2008.
Moreover, the family is planning to donate one trillion won to improve public healthcare, including 500 billion won to build South Korea’s first specialist hospital for infectious disease.
In addition to it, Lee’s $1.76 billion personal art collection includes works by Picasso, Monet, and Chagall, which will be donated to organizations including the National Museum of Korea and National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
