"Samsung is the Result of Love for Semiconductors"… Park Young-sun Mourns Late Chairman Lee Kun-hee

Minister of SMEs and Startups
Posts on Facebook

Chairman Lee Kun-hee visiting the factory in 2004 to inspect semiconductor equipment (Photo by Samsung)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, expressed her deep condolences on the 25th via Facebook, saying, "I extend my heartfelt condolences to Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who created the semiconductor miracle of the Republic of Korea."

On the same day, Minister Park left a written recollection of the late Lee Kun-hee, Chairman of Samsung Group, who passed away at Seoul Samsung Hospital in Irwon-dong, Seoul. She recalled the late chairman during her time as an MBC economic reporter in the late 1980s, when one summer at a seminar of the Federation of Korean Industries in Jeju Island, he spent about an hour giving a lecture and having an extended conversation with reporters about "the future of semiconductors."

Minister Park recalled that it was impressive that the late chairman was accompanied by Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was then a university student, sitting in the back seat. She also explained that he poured a glass of Gatorade into a water cup and passionately spoke about semiconductors as the future food source of Korea, saying, "I am currently obsessed with semiconductors."

Minister Park also shared stories about the late chairman’s time studying in Japan. She said, "(He) also talked about his time studying abroad in Japan. He felt lonely during his studies and often watched movies alone at home to ease his loneliness. In particular, the Japanese film 'Tenchin' was highly recommended by his predecessor, Chairman Lee Byung-chul, and he watched it several times, which left a lasting impression."

Minister Park later sought out and watched Tenchin herself. She said, "Although it was an old and worn film, its meaning was special. It can be summarized as a training process for successors of a lid-selling company in a Japanese village," introducing the film’s content.

According to the film content introduced by Minister Park, a 13-year-old boy named Daisako, who graduated from elementary school, receives a lid as a graduation gift from his father. Daisako’s father tells him that to inherit the family business, he must sell that lid.

In response, young Daisako asks his father, "Why do I have to sell this lid?" His father replies, "You will understand once you sell it." While selling the lid, Daisako comes to realize his own feelings about the lid he must sell, the mindset of the merchant who sells it, and the feelings of the consumer who buys it.

Minister Park explained, "If the hearts of the seller and the buyer do not connect, the product cannot be sold. It was a film that made me feel that one must truly have affection for the product they sell for sincerity to be conveyed to those who need it."

She continued, "Since Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s Frankfurt New Management Declaration in 1993 ('Change everything except your wife and children'), Samsung Electronics has grown into a global company in mobile phones and semiconductors. Today’s Samsung is the result of Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s love for semiconductors. Reflecting again on the film Tenchin, I express my deepest condolences to Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who created the semiconductor miracle of the Republic of Korea."