Jangjeong Lee Jong-hwan, Honorary Chairman of Samyoung Group, Passes Away... Condolence Visits Continue at Funeral Hall

Lee Jong-hwan, the honorary chairman of Samyoung Chemical Group and founder of the Gwanjeong Lee Jong-hwan Education Foundation, passed away at the age of 101 at Seoul National University Hospital at 1:48 a.m. on the 13th. Chairman Lee was the first-generation entrepreneur of South Korea and the only surviving figure of that era, known as a businessman who personally practiced "noblesse oblige."

As news of the passing of Chairman Lee Jong-hwan of Gwanjeong spread, a continuous line of mourners formed at his funeral hall. On the 13th, at the funeral hall of the late Gwanjeong Lee Jong-hwan, Honorary Chairman of Samyoung Group, wreaths sent by President Yoon Seok-yeol and former President Lee Myung-bak were placed on both sides.
[Photo by Joo So-eun]

The deceased's funeral hall was set up in Room 1 on the 3rd floor of the funeral hall at Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Although the Gwanjeong Scholarship Foundation politely declined floral tributes, numerous wreaths from political, business, and academic figures paying their respects to the deceased lined the hall.

On that day, wreaths sent by President Yoon Suk-yeol, former President Lee Myung-bak, Chairman Kwon Oh-gap of HD Hyundai, and Seoul National University President Yoo Hong-rim, among others, arrived one after another and were placed in the funeral hall.

On the 13th, O Tae-wan, the governor of Uiryeong County, visited the birthplace in Uiryeong County, Gyeongnam, where the memorial altar for the late Kwanjeong Lee Jong-hwan, Honorary Chairman of Samyoung Group, was set up to pay his respects.
[Image provided by Uiryeong County]

The line of mourners was no exception in Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam, the hometown where Chairman Lee was born and raised. At the incense altar set up at his birthplace in Jeongdong-ri, Yongdeok-myeon, Uiryeong-gun, Mayor Oh Tae-wan of Uiryeong-gun, relatives, and village residents visited the funeral hall to pay their respects.

Chairman Lee was born in 1923 in Uiryeong, Gyeongnam, graduated from Masan High School, and completed two years in the Department of Commerce at Meiji University in Japan in 1944. He was later conscripted as a student soldier and crossed life-threatening battlefields between the Soviet-Manchurian border and Okinawa until liberation.

In 1959, he founded Samyoung Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., which grew into the Samyoung Group, overseeing more than ten companies including Samyoung Heavy Industries. Until the end of September, just before his passing, at the age of 100, Chairman Lee demonstrated incredible vitality, personally overseeing not only the foundation’s operations but also the production and sales sites of the group’s affiliates.

Notably, in 2000, he established the Gwanjeong Lee Jong-hwan Education Foundation by donating 400 billion KRW of his private funds, the first of its kind in Korea, aiming to nurture top talents for the advancement of humanity in South Korea. The assets he has contributed to the scholarship foundation to date amount to 1.7 trillion KRW.

Honorary Chairman Lee Jong-hwan of Gwanjeong is giving a greeting speech at the completion ceremony of 'Gwanjeongjae,' built to commemorate the 100th birthday celebration held on the afternoon of November 20, 2022, at his birthplace in Yongdeok-myeon, Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam.
[Image provided by So-eun Joo]

At the centennial celebration held at his birthplace in Uiryeong last November, he left the motto, “Live a life of righteousness.” He said, “If I were to sum up my 100 years of life in one phrase, it would be this: Live a life of righteousness. Righteousness ultimately prevails.”

He added, “My final wish is to continue working on the front lines of management so that the Gwanjeong Education Foundation will continue to develop sustainably even after my death, and to go when heaven calls.”

Known as the “Asia’s top philanthropist,” Honorary Chairman Gwanjeong Lee Jong-hwan supports the selection of South Korea’s best talents to grow faithfully under the 3C scholarship philosophy of Challenge, Creativity, and Contribution. He especially focuses on supporting students in natural sciences and engineering, hoping to produce Nobel laureates from South Korea.

On the 13th, condolence wreaths honoring the late Kwanjung Lee Jong-hwan, Honorary Chairman of Samyoung Group, were lined up at his birthplace in Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam, where a memorial altar was set up.
[Image provided by So-eun Joo]

Thanks to his passion, the foundation has developed into Asia’s largest scholarship program, awarding a total of 15 billion KRW annually to 1,000 domestic and international scholarship students.

The number of Gwanjeong Foundation scholarship recipients has reached about 12,000 over the past 23 years, with 750 doctoral degrees awarded. The total scholarship amount disbursed reached 270 billion KRW as of 2023. In 2012, Gwanjeong donated 60 billion KRW to build an electronic library with a total area of 25,834 square meters at Seoul National University and supported 50 Gwanjeong scholarship students at Zhejiang University, one of China’s top five prestigious universities.

Chairman Lee Jong-hwan’s funeral will be held over three days, with the funeral procession scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on the 15th. The burial site is in Seonyeong, Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do. The bereaved family includes his eldest son, Lee Seok-jun, chairman of Samyoung Group, along with one son and four daughters.