Photo via AP
Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee is in stable condition after suffering a heart attack late Saturday evening, the Wall Street Journal reports. Samsung representatives told AFP that he is recovering in a hospital breathing without assistance after undergoing surgery to widen his arteries.
“There has been no disruption in the group’s day-to-day operation,” said an official. The company and the hospital did not say how long he is expected to be hospitalized. Last year, Lee was treated for pneumonia, and in the 1990s, he underwent treatment for lung cancer.
Lee, 72, has led the company since the late ‘80s, overseeing its rise as into a dominant global conglomerate. Nowadays, Lee isn’t thought to be heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the company, with three CEOs serving below him. According to the Wall Street Journal, though, Lee is still believed to have a final say in major strategic decisions.
Lee’s health issues over the years have always fueled speculation on who would replace him, but there appears to be a clear frontrunner. For many years, Lee has groomed his only son, Lee Jae-young (also known as Jae Y. Lee), 45, to take control over South Korea’s largest chaebol in the same way that the elder Lee took over the company from his father, Kim Byung-chull, in 1987. The younger Lee is currently the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics after serving as COO until 2012, and he is considered one of the international faces of the company.
