"Outstanding Pioneer" Samsung's Online Memorial Hall Sees Outpouring of Condolences for Chairman Lee Kun-hee

Tributes to Chairman Lee Kun-hee Continue on Samsung's Internal Online Network

The hearse carrying Lee Kun-hee, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, is leaving the funeral hall at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 28th. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Although Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee bid his 'farewell' on the 28th, the memorials by Samsung employees continue. Due to restrictions on funeral visitations amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), employees are mourning the chairman's passing mainly through an online memorial hall set up within the company.

According to Samsung Electronics and others on the 28th, by the morning of that day, the memorial hall established on the company's internal network on the 25th had received nearly 30,000 comments from all affiliates combined. Employees expressed their sorrow over Chairman Lee's passing after battling illness for over six years and offered condolences through comments.

One employee wrote, "I respect him as a visionary pioneer of the era who looked at least twenty years ahead. When thinking about the changes of the times, the words about cold sweat on his back and sleepless nights are not exaggerations, and only now do I feel the same pain," expressing regret.

Another employee left a message saying, "Thanks to the chairman, I have a happy family and live well. I remember seeing him from afar when he visited the Hwaseong semiconductor plant." Another employee pledged, "Thank you for growing Samsung into a top-tier company. I will always remember the sense of crisis the chairman spoke of and continue to develop."

Samsung released videos of Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s management activities during his lifetime in the memorial hall, including his announcement of the New Management initiative, his 30th anniversary of inauguration, activities with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and site visits. An executive at Samsung Electronics said, "Young employees do not know much about Chairman Lee’s activities and achievements during his lifetime. Watching the memorial videos showing how he grew Samsung into a top-tier company will be a moving experience."

Meanwhile, the memorial atmosphere continues in Daegu, where the chairman was born. Lee was born in 1942 in a traditional house in Ingyeo-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu, as the third son of Lee Byung-chul, the founder of Samsung Group. Ingyeo-dong is where the chairman’s childhood home stood until he was three years old and also the location of the Samsung Sanghoe building, the foundation of Samsung, which stood there for over 60 years.