Samsung revealed on October 25 that Chairman Kun-Hee Lee died.He was 78 years old.Although his cause of death has not been revealed, Lee has been in recuperation since he fell in 2014 due to myocardial infarction.He changed the company's focusing fields from inexpensive daily necessities to the production of high -end products, and grown Samsung into a huge electronics company today.
李健熙会長提供：Getty ImagesAccording to Samsung, "Lee was a very clear person who transformed Samsung from local business to the world's leading innovator, and a major industry company.""Samsung employees will continue to yearn for him and thank him for the way he walked with him."
US CNET asked Samsung to make further comments, but no answer was obtained.
The Samsung Group of Samsung Electronics was founded by Lee's father, Byung-Chul Lee.When it was founded in 1938 as Samsung Shokai, the company sold Korean fish dried, vegetables and fruits to China.About 30 years later, Samsung started selling electronic products.In 1987, Lee Ken -hee died in 1987 and became chairman.It was only in the mid -1990s that the reputation as a company that sells inexpensive products has been shifted to the production of high -end products.In 1993, a meeting was held in Frankfurt that he had to "change everything except his wife and child."
In the statement, Samsung said in a statement on the 24th, "The New Management, which was declared in 1993, has become the promotion of Samsung's vision to provide the best technology and use it to move the global society."
In 1995, Lee Ken -hee found that the mobile phone handed as a gift did not work well and was furious.He went to Kabao, Korea, where Samsung's main assembly factory was located, and abandoned 150,000 mobile phones on the site.He gathered employees around the piled up mobile phone, ignited the mountain, and instructed him to destroy it with a bulldozer.Samsung Electronics since then began to focus on the design of high -quality products.It is one of the reasons for many products from the company to attract customers.
Samsung is currently one of the world's largest share of smartphone manufacturers.The company has maintained the first place in smartphone share in about 10 years until it was overtaken by Huawei (Huawei) in 2020.It is also a major in the fields of television, parts manufacturing, memory chips, and home appliances.
Lee was born on January 9, 1942 and graduated from Waseda University in 1965.He further entered the Master's Program at George Wasington University, but has not obtained a degree according to The New York Times.
Lee served as chairman of the Samsung Group from 1987 to 1998 and from 1998 to 2008, chairman and CEO.He re -elected Samsung Electronics in 2010 and served until his death.He has led Samsung to one of the strongest companies in the high -tech field.He also became one of the most wealthy people in Korea.On the other hand, he had many legal issues for many years.
This article edited an article from overseas CBS Interactive by Asahi Interactive for Japan.