Hong Ra-hee returns as honorary director of Leeum Museum

Hong Ra-hee, the 79-year-old widow of the late Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, has been named honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art.

Hong Ra-hee, the widow of late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, steps out of an event raising awareness on childhood cancers and rare diseases at the Seoul National University Hospital in central Seoul on Oct. 21, 2024. [YONHAP]

Hong Ra-hee, the 79-year-old widow of the late Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, has been named honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art.

The announcement was made Monday, as Hong attended the opening ceremony for the Hoam Museum of Art’s new exhibition, "Gyeomjae Jeong Seon."

Both Leeum and Hoam museums are owned and operated by the Samsung Foundation of Culture.

Hong abruptly resigned as director of both museums in 2017 following the arrest of her son, Lee Jae-yong — then vice chairman of Samsung — on charges of bribery and other offenses related to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. Hong had led Leeum since 2004 and Hoam since 1995.

Since her departure, the director position at both museums had remained vacant, with her daughter, Lee Seo-hyun, serving as the operations director.

The Samsung Foundation of Culture said Hong’s return as honorary director coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Hoam Museum of Art.

The art catalog for the "Gyeomjae Jeong Seon" exhibition includes an opening statement written by Hong, highlighting the legacy of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) landscape painter for whom the exhibition is named.

Hong is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the Korean art world. She was previously named to ARTnews’ Top 200 Collectors list and entered the art scene in 1995 when she became head of the Hoam Museum of Art, established in 1982 by Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull (1910–1987) in Yongin, Gyeonggi.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]