Samsung’s chairman rushed to hospital following heart attack
SAMSUNG Electronics’ chairman Lee Kun-hee, the man overseeing the flagship subsidiary of South Korea’s biggest company, was rushed to hospital on Saturday night after having a heart attack and yesterday underwent emergency surgery.
Samsung Medical Centre, where Kun-hee is now recovering from the operation, yesterday said the 71-year-old had undergone surgery for a cardiac procedure for acute myocardial infarction, and is now in stable condition. Samsung Electronics’ vice chairman Jay Lee, Lee’s son and heir apparent, is expected to eventually succeed him as chairman of the flagship unit, responsible for Samsung’s hit range of Galaxy smartphones.
Samsung Group, which has assets of 435 trillion won (£252bn), from handset-making to ship building, has been restructuring ahead of an expected transfer of ownership to the third generation of its founding family.