Lee Kun-hee, The Force Behind Samsung's Transformation, Died At 78

Lee Kun-hee, who built Samsung into a world’s largest producer of smartphones, memory chips, and televisions died in Seoul on Sunday at 78.

According to the company, Lee passed away with his family by his side, but the cause of death is yet to be revealed. It is known that he underwent a surgery in 2014 after a heart attack and was also treated for lung cancer in the late 1990s.

As per the New York Times, Lee Kun-hee took control of Samsung Group in 1987 after his father and conglomerate’s co-founder Lee Byung-chul died. At the time, the electronics arm of the company was known in the West as a company specializing in the production of low-cost TVs and low-quality microwave ovens that were sold in discount stores.

Mr. Lee Kun-hee continuously pushed the business to move up the technological ladder, improving product quality. By the early 1990s, it had overtaken rivals in Japan and the US to become a leader in the memory chip industry. Then it continued to dominate the flat panel manufacturing sector. After that, Samsung conquered the mid-end and high-end mobile phone market in the 2000s.

Despite his great merit in building the company into the world’s biggest phone, TV and computer chip empire, President Lee Kun-hee was twice convicted, once for bribery and once for tax-evasion though he was pardoned both times.

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