Economics
Samsung’s First Family Struggles to Keep Grip on Company
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With Samsung Group’s powerful patriarch entering his third month in a South Korean hospital, his family risks losing its grip on the conglomerate he built into a force from smartphones to life insurance.
Lee Kun Hee, 72, took over from his father 27 years ago and outmaneuvered Sony Corp. and Nokia Oyj to surpass Apple Inc. in the mobile-phone business. His son, 46-year-old Lee Jae Yong, will struggle to keep the same influence due to inheritance taxes that could exceed $5 billion and waning support in Korea for conglomerates controlled through crossholdings.