South Korea's richest and most powerful industrialist, Lee Kun-hee, turned Samsung Electronics into one of the world's biggest tech companies but lived a reclusive existence.
Still, occasional pronouncements on business by the tycoon, who died at 78 on Sunday, reverberated through the country.
When he inherited the chairmanship of the Samsung group in 1987 founded by his father as a fish and fruit exporter it was already the country's largest conglomerate, with operations ranging from consumer electronics to construction.
But Lee transformed it into a global power by the time he was left bedridden by a heart attack in 2014, it was the world's biggest maker of smartphones and memory chips.
He seldom ventured out from the high walls of his private compound in central Seoul to visit the company headquarters, earning him the nickname "hermit king".
Samsung is by far the biggest of the chaebols, the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate South Korea's economy.
They drove the nation's transformation from a war-ravaged ruin to the world's 12th-largest economy, but nowadays are accused of murky political ties and stifling competition with Lee himself twice convicted of criminal offences, in one case bribing a president.
Lee's far-sighted leadership style was widely credited with turning Samsung Electronics, now the group's flagship subsidiary, into one of the world's leading developers and producers of semiconductors, mobile phones and LCDs.
"Chairman Lee was a true visionary who transformed Samsung into the world-leading innovator and industrial powerhouse," Samsung said in a statement announcing his death.
"His legacy will be everlasting."
- 'Let's change everything' -
Early in Lee's chairmanship, Samsung was seen as a shoddy producer of cheap, low-quality products.
"Let's change everything except our wives and kids," he said in 1993.
The company gathered up and burnt all 150,000 mobile phones it had in stock, paving the way for the rebirth of the highly successful "Anycall" handset.
Soon afterwards, he ordered Chinese-made products to be displayed at Samsung headquarters, saying it was important to show how China was quickly catching up.
Lee rarely spoke to the media, but was closely watched whenever he broke his long silences, often with doom-laden New Year corporate addresses.
In meetings with subordinates and occasional interviews, Lee always stressed the importance of bright minds in business.
"No matter what happens, there will be nothing to be afraid of if we have the best talent," he once said.
"In the era of unlimited competition, winning or losing will depend upon a small number of geniuses... One genius will feed 100,000 people."
- Pekingese love -
Lee, the third son of Samsung group founder Lee Byung-chull, had a soft spot for dogs developed as a child in Japan where he went to school from age 11.
"My first love was my Pekingese," Lee wrote in a collection of essays published in 1997. "I learned then that an emotional dialogue between a man and a dog was possible."
He was also known for his love of movies, horseriding and exotic supercars.
Lee studied at Japan's prestigious Waseda University and earned an MBA at George Washington University in the United States.
At the age of 36, he became vice chairman of the group's construction and trading arm, and became group chairman nine years later, shortly after his father's death.
Lee was known for taking months-long trips to Hawaii and Japan before key business decisions, including the promotion of his own son Lee Jae-yong to vice chairman of Samsung Electronics in 2013.
- Shrouded in mystery -
Big business and political power have often been closely linked in South Korea, and in 1996, Lee Kun-hee was convicted of bribing former president Roh Tae-woo.
While Roh was in office, Lee paid him "a large sum of money in bribes over a long period", the court ruled, seeking favours for Samsung in the president's business policy decisions.
Lee was also found guilty of embezzlement and tax evasion in a slush fund scandal in 2008, which saw him briefly step down from the company leadership.
But suspended sentences meant he never served time in jail and he received two presidential pardons, going on to spearhead his country's successful efforts to secure the 2018 Winter Olympics.
A few years later, he fought off a lawsuit from his older brother and sister claiming they were entitled to Samsung shares worth billions of dollars.
Lee married Hong Ra-hee whose father was a justice minister with whom he had a son and three daughters.
After his heart attack, Lee spent his last years in medical care.
Secretly filmed footage broadcast in 2017 showed him seated in a wheelchair, while other reports said he was in a coma but did not need a ventilator.
Little was ever revealed about his condition, leaving him shrouded in mystery even in his final days.
AFP RELAXNEWS
Mon Oct 26 2020
South Korea's richest and most powerful industrialist, Lee Kun-hee, turned Samsung Electronics into one of the world's biggest tech companies but lived a reclusive existence. AFPRelaxpic
Akta baharu berkuat kuasa 1 Jun
Akta Keselamatan Dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan (Pindaan) 2022 akan berkuat kuasa pada 1 Jun ini sekali gus meningkatkan lagi tahap keselamatan dan kesihatan di tempat kerja di seluruh negara, kata Menteri Sumber Manusia Steven Sim.
Pelaburan baharu memberi cabaran baharu kepada Malaysia
Pelaburan baharu yang diterima Malaysia memberi cabaran baharu khususnya dalam memberi fokus dalam bidang teknologi dan juga Latihan dan Pendidikan Teknikal dan Vokasional (TVET).
AWANI Borneo [28/04/2024] – Daftar di Yayasan Sarawak | Kos ganti paip RM9 bilion | Tarikan Kitaro
Laporan berita padat dan ringkas dari Borneo bersama Assim Hassan
#AWANIBorneo 28 April 2024
- Kerajaan Sarawak tanggung kos pelajaran anak mendiang Joanna
- Kebocoran paip penyumbang utama air tidak terhasil
- Kitaro magnet tarik pengunjung RWMF 2024
#AWANInews
#AWANIBorneo 28 April 2024
- Kerajaan Sarawak tanggung kos pelajaran anak mendiang Joanna
- Kebocoran paip penyumbang utama air tidak terhasil
- Kitaro magnet tarik pengunjung RWMF 2024
#AWANInews
Kesatuan Ragbi Malaysia harap individu disyaki pecah amanah didakwa segera
Kesatuan Ragbi Malaysia (KRM) berharap individu di sebalik isu pecah amanah disyaki berlaku dalam pengendalian akaun bank badan induk itu didakwa segera.
PM adakan pertemuan dengan Presiden Rwanda
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim mengadakan pertemuan dua hala dengan Presiden Rwanda Paul Kagame di luar Mesyuarat Khas Forum Ekonomi Sedunia (WEF) pada Ahad.
Iraq luluskan RUU anti-LGBTQ
PARLIMEN Iraq pada Sabtu meluluskan rang undang-undang (RUU) yang menjenayahkan hubungan sejenis.
Rumah terbuka Persatuan Komuniti Bugis Sabah meriah
Keunikan pakaian suku kaum Bugis dan kepelbagaian juadah menjadi tarikan utama rumah terbuka Persatuan Kaum Bugis Sabah.
Perayaan masa terbaik pupuk persaudaraan - Hajiji
Datul Seri Hajiji Noor menyifatkan perayaan yang ada di negara ini sebagai medan terbaik memupuk tali persaudaraan dalam kalangan rakyat pelbagai kaum dan agama.
Konsert jelajah terakhir Kitaro bakal tarik ramai pengunjung
Konsert jelajah Kitaro di Rainforest World Music Festival 2024 bakal jadi yang terakhir buat Kitaro yang memasuki usia 71 tahun, Februari lalu.
Abang Jo setuju cadangan syarat untuk pemohon PR di Sarawak
Dalam perkembangan lain Abang Johari bersetuju dengan cadangan untuk menetapkan syarat bagi komuniti peniaga dan pelabur yang mahu mendapatkan status Penduduk Tetap (PR) di Sarawak perlu memasukkan minimum dua juta ringgit ke dalam akaun deposit tetap negeri ataupun membeli hartanah bernilai 1.5 juta ke atas.
TSMC akan hasilkan cip 1.6nm menjelang 2026
Menurut TSMC, teknologi 1.6mm akan memberikan peningkatan prestasi sehingga 8-10% untuk voltan yang sama serta pengurangan penggunaan kuasa antara 15-20% pada kelajuan yang sama.
Samsung naik taraf Bixby dengan AI Generatif
Bixby akan kekal wujud di samping Galaxy AI dan Samsung akan terus mengemas kini pembantu maya mereka ini untuk lebih mesra pengguna.
Samsung lancar televisyen AI 27 Mac ini
Pada 27 Mac 2024, 9PM Samsung Malaysia akan mengadakan acara Unbox & Discover 2024.
Intel tawar perkhidmatan pengeluaran cip kepada AMD, NVIDIA, Qualcomm
Apabila Intel Foundry Services beroperasi secara sepenuhnya, Intel akan mempunyai kemampuan untuk membangunkan cip intel tersuai yang hadir dengan teknologi terbina.
Sistem kesan apnea tidur Samsung Galaxy Watch terima kelulusan FDA
Sistem pengesanan apnea tidur Samsung memerlukan waktu tidur pemakai dijejak selama empat jam sehari selama dua hari.
7 daripada 10 telefon paling laris 2023 ialah iPhone, 3 lagi keluaran Samsung
iPhone 14 Pro Max mencatatkan jualan tertinggi dengan 34 juta unit.
Pengeluaran tablet susut 10.3% sepanjang 2023, iPad memegang 40% pasaran
Sepanjang 2023, pengeluaran tablet susut 10.3% berbanding 2022.
Pengerusi Eksekutif Samsung didapati tidak bersalah kes penyelewengan
Risiko dipenjarakan semula kerana kesalahan memberikan rasuah kepada Presiden Park Geun-hye tidak akan berlaku.
Siri Galaxy S24, telefon AI pertama daripada Samsung kini tiba
Dikuasakan Galaxy AI yang akan mengubah cara peranti mudah alih memperkasakan pengguna buat selamanya.
Keunggulan kuasa AI di tapak tangan anda dengan Galaxy AI
Satu pengalaman AI bimbit menyeluruh, dipacu bersama oleh AI dalam peranti dibangunkan Samsung serta AI berasaskan awan.