Seoul, The head of South Korea's largest business group Samsung underwent an emergency operation Sunday after developing symptoms of heart failure, hospital officials said.
Lee Kun-Hee, 72,
was admitted to a hospital near his home in Seoul Saturday night due to a
respiratory problem. He showed symptoms of heart failure and received emergency
treatment before being moved early Sunday to Samsung Medical Centre where his
problem was diagnosed as acute cardiac infarction, the hospital said in a
statement. "He is now recuperating in a stable condition after
undergoing an operation," it said. The procedure involved the placement of a stent, a tube
inserted to unblock blood vessels, Yonhap news agency said. Lee is the Chairman
of Samsung Electronics, the group's flagship firm and the world's largest
technology company in revenue terms.
He is largely credited with turning
Samsung, founded by his father in 1938 into a global brand which is now the
world's top chipmaker and smartphone maker. Lee is also the de facto head of the
entire business empire, which employs some 200,000 staff in dozens of
affiliates and dominates every aspect of life in South Korea. Lee underwent
lung surgery in the late 1990s and has been suffering from respiratory
complications since then. Due to his medical history, he stays overseas during
the winter to prevent respiratory ailments, Yonhap said, adding he returned to
Seoul in April after months in the United States.
Lee is South Korea's richest man
with a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine at around $10.8 billion and has a
son and two daughters. His son, Jay Y. Lee, 45, serves as vice chairman
of Samsung Electronics. The founding family controls Samsung through a complex
web of share cross-holdings in group subsidiaries. Samsung has reorganised its
structure to pave the way for the son's eventual succession to the top post and
cement the family's hold over the group.
Jay Lee's sisters also control key
posts in group subsidiaries. Samsung, whose name means Three Stars,
began life as a trading company founded by Lee Kun-Hee's father Lee
Byung-Chull. Lee took over after his father's death in 1987. He stepped down as
group chairman in 2008 after being charged with tax evasion but returned as
chairman of Samsung Electronics later after receiving a presidential pardon.
Samsung has rapidly expanded its
presence in the global smartphone market, dethroning Apple as the world's top
smartphone maker amid worldwide patent battles between the tech giants over
technology and design.
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