Taehwa Holdings Chairwoman Kang Nayeon Acquires Property with Child as Co-owner
No Mortgage Registered... Entire Payment Presumed in Cash
It has been confirmed that the detached house in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, formerly owned by the late Lee Kunhee, former chairman of Samsung Electronics, was sold for 22.8 billion won. The new owner is Kang Nayeon, 41, chairwoman of Taehwa Holdings, an energy and steel trading company.
The appearance of the detached house in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, formerly owned by the late Lee Kunhee, former chairman of Samsung Electronics (right), and Kang Nayeon, chairman of Taehwa Holdings. Taehwa Holdings website · Yonhap News Agency
According to the certified copy of the court registry obtained on the 16th, Kang purchased the Itaewon residence, which had been jointly owned by Hong Rahee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art, Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, Lee Boo-jin, president of Hotel Shilla, and Lee Seo-hyun, president of Samsung C&T, on June 13. Kang secured ownership jointly with her child, born in 2014, holding 85% and 15% shares respectively. The transfer of ownership was completed on the 12th of this month, about three months after signing the sales contract, when the remaining balance was paid. Since no mortgage was registered, it is understood that the entire purchase price of 22.8 billion won was paid in cash.
The house sits on a 1,073-square-meter (about 325 pyeong) plot, with a total floor area of 497 square meters (about 150 pyeong), and consists of one basement level and two above-ground floors. The late chairman Lee purchased the property in September 2010 from Saehan Media, then an affiliate of the Samsung Group, for 8.28 billion won. The latest transaction price is about 14.5 billion won higher than the original purchase price. After Lee's passing in 2020, the house was inherited by his family, and following a share adjustment in 2021, it was held for about four years before being sold this year.
Analysts attribute the sale by the Samsung owner family to the heavy burden of inheritance tax. The family inherited assets worth 26 trillion won and is paying approximately 12 trillion won in inheritance tax over six years in installments. To secure the necessary funds, they have been selling shares in affiliates such as Samsung Electronics or using stock-backed loans since 2021. In October last year, they also disposed of another Itaewon residence formerly owned by the late chairman Lee.
Kang Nayeon, who purchased the house, was born in 1984 and founded Taehwa Holdings in 2013. She has developed a global trading business that imports raw materials from Russia, Indonesia, and Australia and supplies them to the Asian market. Over the past three years, the company’s sales have grown annually, reaching 273.3 billion won in 2022, 337.6 billion won in 2023, and 405.5 billion won in 2024. Taehwa Holdings counts major domestic conglomerates such as Hyundai Steel and POSCO among its clients and is recognized for its active overseas business operations.
In addition, Kang has consistently engaged in social contribution activities, including youth scholarship programs and medical and elderly welfare initiatives. She has donated 300 million won each to Asan Medical Center and Seoul National University Hospital. She also donated a Carnival vehicle to the Taebaek (Association of Bereaved Families of Industrial Workers Who Died in Mining Areas) and contributed 40 million won to the Marine Samcheok City Veterans Association to support local security activities. Last month, she donated 50 million won to Geumsan County, Chungcheongnam-do, for educational development and talent cultivation. This donation was reportedly motivated by the fact that Kang’s maternal grandfather, the late Dr. Gil Kisang, who served as the former deputy secretary general of the National Assembly Secretariat, was originally from Geumsan, Chungcheongnam-do. In the same month, she also donated 100 million won to Chungcheongnam-do as relief funds for flood damage.
On April 6 last year, Yoo Jeongbok, Mayor of Incheon, visited Japan and met with the F1 Chief Executive Officer attending the Suzuka Grand Prix to deliver a letter of intent for hosting the F1 Incheon Grand Prix. The first person on the left is Kang Nayeon, Chairwoman of Taehwa Holdings. Incheon City
Notably, as a Korean partner of Formula One (F1), Kang is taking the lead in efforts to bring the F1 Grand Prix to Incheon. In April last year, she visited Japan with Yoo Jeongbok, Mayor of Incheon, and in May, she attended the Monaco F1 Grand Prix.
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