Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong Donated 1 Billion KRW to Samsung Public Welfare Foundation Last Year

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who has been indicted on charges including violations of the Capital Markets Act, is attending the continuation of the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, last March. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong donated 1 billion KRW to the Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation last year.

According to the public interest corporation settlement documents submitted by the foundation to the National Tax Service on the 3rd, Vice Chairman Lee donated 1 billion KRW last year under his personal name. The foundation, established in 1982, is the largest public welfare foundation in Korea. It operates Samsung Medical Center and Samsung Noble County, providing medical services, elderly welfare, and daycare center operations.

Vice Chairman Lee inherited the chairmanship of the foundation from the late Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee in 2015 and served as chairman until early last year. He stepped down in March last year after being sentenced in the state affairs manipulation case.

Hong Ra-hee, the wife of Chairman Lee Kun-hee, and Lee Seo-hyun, the youngest daughter and director of the Samsung Welfare Foundation, donated 100 million KRW and 300 million KRW respectively. Former President of the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology Kwon Oh-hyun also donated 300 million KRW, along with other current and former Samsung executives. The foundation collected a total of 54.3 billion KRW in donations last year, with Samsung Electronics contributing more than half at 29.9 billion KRW.