Samsung family nears completion of inheritance tax payments

Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art (Newsis)

Hong Ra-hee, the widow of late Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Kun-hee, is selling shares worth about 2.08 trillion won ($1.41 billion) to help cover a massive inheritance tax bill totaling roughly 12 trillion won, a regulatory filing showed Monday.

Hong, an honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art and the mother of Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong, signed a share sale agreement with Shinhan Bank to dispose of 15 million Samsung Electronics shares by June 30.

Based on the stock’s closing price of 139,000 won on the contract date, the shares are valued at around 2.08 trillion won. With Samsung Electronics’ share price having risen in recent sessions, the final proceeds could be higher. The filing said the funds will be used to repay taxes and debt.

The sale represents about 0.25 percent of Samsung Electronics’ outstanding shares. Hong currently holds 87.97 million shares, equivalent to a 1.49 percent stake, making her the company’s second-largest shareholder after Lee Jae-yong, who owns about 1.65 percent. Once the transaction is completed, Hong’s stake is expected to fall to roughly 1.24 percent.

As of Monday noon, Samsung Electronics shares were trading at 146,900 won, down 1.41 percent from the previous session.

Market observers view the disposal as Hong’s final major step to secure funds for her remaining inheritance tax payments. Under Korean law, inheritance taxes can be paid in installments over several years, with the final payment due in April in this case.

The Samsung family has been making steady efforts to meet the tax obligation. Last year, it sold the late chair’s former residence in Itaewon, central Seoul, for 22.8 billion won, a move widely seen as part of the broader funding strategy.

Following Lee Kun-hee’s death in 2020, the family began collectively paying among the largest inheritance tax bills ever recorded in South Korea. According to disclosures made at the time of the tax filing in April 2021, Lee’s estate was valued at about 26 trillion won.

The heirs are Hong and her three children: Lee Jae-yong, Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun.