Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s cousin… age 59
Lee Jae-gwan, former vice chairman of Saehan Group. Hankook Ilbo file photo
Lee Jae-gwan, the cousin of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, has passed away. He died at the age of 59.
Former Vice Chairman Lee is known to have suffered from depression, hip surgery, and weight loss after returning to Korea from Los Angeles (LA) in the United States last year. The specific cause of death is still unknown.
The deceased’s father is the late Chairman Lee Chang-hee, the founder of Saehan Group and the second son of the late Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-cheol, and his mother is Lee Young-ja, a former Japanese chairman who served as chairman after the death of Chairman Lee. His eldest son, the deceased, took over as vice president at the young age of 34 when his mother assumed the role.
The deceased took over the stake in Cheil Synthetic Fiber owned by Samsung Group, separated from Samsung Group in 1995 and officially launched Saehan Group, a mid-sized group in the top 20 in the business world with 12 affiliates in 1997. Saehan, the successor of Jeil Synthetic Fiber, was the parent company, and Saehan Media was the main affiliate.
However, the financial difficulties started when they invested 1 trillion won in the video tape and fiber-related film business, which was on the decline. The amount of debt stood at 700 billion won in 1995 and rose to 1.7 trillion won at the end of 1998. In addition, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial crisis overlapped, and eventually applied for a workout in May 2000.
In the end, the deceased gave up all of his 25 billion won worth of assets, including his 3.5 billion won Itaewon home, and withdrew from management. He was also sentenced to three years in prison and five years of probation for taking illegal loans through accounting fraud in 2003.
Lee Jae-chan, the younger brother of the deceased, former president of Saehan Media, passed away on his own in August 2010.
Kim Kyung-jun reporter ultrakj75@hankookilbo.com
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