36th Anniversary of Samsung Founder Lee Byung-chul... Reflecting on the Philosophy of 'Business for National Prosperity'

Sunday the 19th Memorial Day... Memorial Ceremony Moved Up to Weekday the 17th
Chairman Lee Jae-yong's First Trial Closing Arguments... "Specific Schedule Undecided"

The 36th anniversary memorial service for Hoam Lee Byung-chul, the founding chairman of Samsung, will be held on the 17th near the family burial site at the Hoam Museum of Art in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Since the anniversary of Chairman Lee Byung-chul’s passing (the 19th) falls on a Sunday, the memorial service is being moved forward to a weekday.

According to business community sources, the memorial service for Chairman Lee Byung-chul is expected to be attended by the broader Samsung group, including Samsung, Shinsegae, CJ, and Hansol. As in previous years, attendees are expected to visit the burial site at different times.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong will attend the first trial sentencing hearing for the unfair merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries on the same day. The sentencing hearing is the final procedure before the verdict in a criminal case. Although the hearing is scheduled to last until 6 p.m., it may conclude earlier. Whether Chairman Lee Jae-yong will attend the memorial service and the timing of his attendance have not yet been decided. Over the past 10 years since 2014, Chairman Lee has attended the memorial service every year except in 2017 (due to a trial) and 2021 (due to a business trip to the United States).

Former Leeum Museum Director Hong Ra-hee, Hotel Shilla President Lee Boo-jin, and Samsung Welfare Foundation Chairwoman Lee Seo-hyun are likely to attend. Their attendance schedules and dates have not yet been finalized. The president-level executives, including Han Jong-hee, head and vice chairman of the DX (Mobile & Consumer Electronics) division, and Kyung Kye-hyun, head and president of the DS (Semiconductor) division, will not attend the memorial service.

The extended Samsung family groups used to hold joint memorial services for Chairman Lee Byung-chul, but since 2012, when an inheritance dispute arose between former CJ Chairman Lee Maeng-hee and former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, they have visited the memorial sites separately.

Vehicles are leaving the ancestral burial site near Hoam Art Museum in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on November 18 last year, during the 35th memorial service for the late Lee Byung-chul, the founding chairman of Samsung Group. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Samsung Electronics stated that it does not plan to distribute any messages from Chairman Lee Jae-yong related to the memorial service externally. There are also no plans for major management announcements such as the so-called 'New Samsung' governance restructuring strategy, business portfolio changes, or merger and acquisition (M&A) plans.

Chairman Lee Byung-chul founded Samsung Sanghoe in Jung-gu, Daegu, in 1938. On January 13, 1969, he established Samsung Electronics Industry Co., Ltd. He is regarded as a business leader who practiced the management philosophy of 'business patriotism,' contributing to the nation and humanity through enterprise.

At a luncheon in 2020 with about 50 presidents of Samsung affiliates, Chairman Lee Jae-yong emphasized, "Companies must always contribute to the national economy and provide hope to society, inheriting and developing the founding chairman’s business patriotism and the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s teachings."

Meanwhile, since September, Samsung has reflected on the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s 'New Management legacy' through events such as the 30th anniversary ceremony of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance’s guide dog program, an academic conference in memory of the late chairman, and a memorial concert. After the memorial service, Samsung is expected to revisit Chairman Lee Byung-chul’s founding spirit and work toward overcoming current challenges.