hankyoreh

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, his wife Hong Ra-hee, and Lee Jae-yong walk into Samsung Headquarters in Seoul on Dec. 1, 2010, to attend the company award ceremony. (Kim Jin-su/The Hankyoreh)

The family of late Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee has agreed to dedicate 1 trillion won (US$903.1 million) of his estate to medical research and donate more than 23,000 pieces of art to public institutions, including "Inwang Jesaekdo" (After Rain at Mt. Inwang), a famous 18th century landscape painting.

That fulfills Lee's promise in an apology he made to the Korean public in 2008 when he temporarily stepped down as chairman following his indictment in a slush fund scandal. In that incident, Cho Jun-ung, a special prosecutor, found that Lee had hidden more than 4 trillion won (US$3.61 billion) in bank accounts set up in other people's names.

Lee's family members haven't disclosed how they intend to divide the stock that the deceased held in affiliates of the Samsung group.

The inheritors of Lee Kun-hee's estate — including eldest son Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics — had Samsung Electronics issue a press release Wednesday in which they said they plan to pay more than 12 trillion won (US$18.84 billion) in inheritance tax.

The press release didn't include any information about how Lee Kun-hee's estate was divided between his widow Hong Ra-hee and their three children.

"The family members are continuing to discuss that. I'm told it won't be long before they reach a final agreement," said a spokesperson for Samsung Electronics.

An inheritance tax of more than 12 trillion won is the highest ever paid by any businessperson, whether in Korea or elsewhere. That's three or four times what the South Korean government collected in inheritance tax last year. The family plans to pay the tax in six installments over five years, with the first installment coming this month.

The 1 trillion won that will be donated to medicine consists of 700 billion won (US$632.01 million) for fighting infectious diseases and 300 billion won (US$270.86 billion) to treat children suffering from cancer and rare diseases.

Five hundred billion won of the money earmarked for combating infectious diseases will be used to build a dedicated hospital, while the remaining 200 billion won will be used to expand infrastructure for dealing with infectious diseases. Those funds will go toward building a high-tech laboratory at the National Infectious Disease Research Institute, which reports to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and supporting various research projects to develop vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases.

Lee's family said they will donate the money to the National Medical Center, which will decide how to spend it in consultation with related organizations. They've also decided to set up a committee at the Seoul National University Children's Hospital to manage projects supporting children with cancer and rare diseases.

It turns out that Lee's art collection contains 23,000 pieces, far more than the previous estimate of 13,000. The family will donate around 21,600 antiques to the National Museum of Korea, including old maps, books, and precious artifacts. There are 60 officially designated cultural heritages in the collection, including the paintings "Inwang Jesaekdo" by Jeong Seon, "Chuseong Budo" (The Sound of Autumn) by Kim Hong-do, and "Cheonsu Gwaneumbosaldo" (Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara), a Buddhist painting from the Goryeo Dynasty.

The family will also donate 1,600 valuable works of art and related materials by some of Korea's modern masters to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, among other institutions. Those paintings include "Yeoindeulgwa Hangari" (The Women and the Jar) by Kim Whanki, "Jeolgujilhaneun Yeoin" (A Woman Pounding Grain) by Park Su-geun, "Hwangso" (The Bull) by Lee Jung-seob, and "Sonyeo/Narutbae" (Girl/Ferry) by Chang Ucchin.

"We've decided to continue various projects for giving back to society in line with the wishes of the deceased, who repeatedly stressed corporations' social responsibility and the need to live in harmony with others," Lee's family said.

"The plan to pay the inheritance tax and give back to society was not a spur-of-the-moment decision but rather the continuation of an ongoing vision," a Samsung spokesperson said.

By Kim Young-bae, senior staff writer

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