Chairman Lee Kun-hee's Condolences on Second Day, Former and Current Samsung Presidents Visit... "Heartbreaking"

On the morning of the 26th, reporters are covering mourners visiting the funeral hall entrance of Seoul Samsung Hospital in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, paying their respects to the late Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Group. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] On the morning of the 26th, the second day since the funeral hall for Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee was set up, the funeral hall at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul has been continuously visited by current and former senior Samsung executives since early morning.

At 9:20 a.m. that day, Jang Choong-ki, former head of the Future Strategy Office, was the first to arrive at the funeral hall. With a somber expression, Jang did not respond to reporters' questions and headed to the funeral hall located on the second basement floor. Jang was a figure who assisted Chairman Lee in the Samsung Group Secretariat, the Restructuring Headquarters, and the Future Strategy Office.

Following him, Kim Ki-nam, Vice Chairman and Head of the DS Division, Kang In-yeop, President of Samsung Electronics System LSI Business Division, and Hwang Chang-gyu, former CEO and Chairman of KT, visited the funeral hall. Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam expressed his feelings to the press, saying, "I am heartbroken."

Cho Dong-gil, Chairman of Hansol Group; Jin Gyo-young, President of Samsung Electronics Memory Business Division; Kwon Oh-hyun, Chairman of Samsung Electronics and Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology; Park Hak-gyu, President of Samsung Electronics DS Division Management Support Office; as well as Chung Ji-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Department Store Group, and Park Yong-man, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also visited the funeral hall one after another.

From the political sphere, Democratic Party lawmakers Ahn Min-seok and Yang Hyang-ja, and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo visited the funeral hall to console the bereaved family.

Chairman Park Yong-man said as he left after paying respects, "Looking at the portrait, I thought that the deceased’s last wish might have been to see the era of Chairman Lee Jae-yong fully open."

Lawmaker Yang Hyang-ja recalled, "He was a global figure who embraced the world on a semiconductor no bigger than a fingernail and a futurist who pioneered the future based on technology. I told him that his 27 years of tenure were equivalent to my 30 years. I remember his words to me, who was always insignificant and inexperienced, telling me 'Don’t live with a beggar’s mentality, live as the owner.'"

Lawmaker Ahn Min-seok explained his reason for visiting the funeral hall, saying, "Samsung has played a significant role in the inter-Korean joint Olympics, so there is that connection."

Minister Sung Yun-mo of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also said, "I do not have a personal relationship with the deceased, but as a minister in charge of industry, I came because he was a great figure in the business world," adding, "I came to express my condolences and pray for the deceased’s repose."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.