As the sixth anniversary of the late Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung Group, approaches, the Samsung family and executives are set to hold a memorial event.
According to industry sources on October 14, Samsung will conduct a memorial service for Chairman Lee on the 23rd at his burial site in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Although the actual anniversary falls on the 25th, the schedule has been moved up due to the holiday falling on a Sunday this year.
Chairman Lee Jae-yong, along with the Samsung family and key executives from major affiliates, is expected to attend the service. Last year, the executives visited the burial site first to pay their respects before the family members, including Chairman Lee, honored the deceased.
After the memorial service, Chairman Lee is anticipated to have lunch with the executives. In previous years, he has shared meals with the leadership following the service, raising interest in whether he will deliver a special message this year.
This year marks the first memorial service since the Samsung family completed the payment of approximately 12 trillion won in inheritance taxes over the past five years following Chairman Lee's passing.
A memorial concert will also be held on the 28th at the Samsung Electronics Human Resources Development Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Samsung has hosted annual concerts to honor the late chairman, attended by family members, key executives, employees, and partners. Last year, cellist Han Jae-min and pianist Park Jae-hong performed together.
In the lead-up to the memorial period, there have also been movements in the Samsung family's shareholdings. Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum, announced on the 13th that she would gift 11,158,000 shares of Samsung Electronics to Chairman Lee. Based on the closing price on the 13th, this is valued at approximately 2.6 trillion won, with the transfer scheduled for next month on the 12th.
Once the transfer is completed, Chairman Lee's stake in Samsung Electronics will increase from 1.58% to 1.75% when combining common and preferred shares. All shares inherited from the late chairman by Hong will also be settled. However, since this is an intra-family transfer, the overall ownership stake of the Samsung family will remain unchanged.
Chairman Lee will mark his fourth anniversary in office four days after the memorial service, on the 27th. Currently, there are no plans for a separate commemorative event or public message. He was appointed chairman on October 27, 2022, following a resolution by the Samsung Electronics board.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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