Memorial Ceremony for Late Chairman Lee Kun-hee's 2nd Anniversary... Family and Executives Attend (Comprehensive)

Kim Seung-yeon, Chairman of Hanwha Group, and current and former presidents visit ancestral graves
Employees hold online memorial without separate ceremony

Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics attending the 2nd anniversary memorial service for the late Lee Kun-hee, Chairman of Samsung Group, held on the morning of the 25th at Seonyeong in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The 2nd anniversary memorial service for the late Lee Kun-hee, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, was solemnly held on the morning of the 25th at the family grave site in Imok-dong, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. About 300 people, including family members, current and former executives, and business leaders such as Kim Seung-yeon, Chairman of Hanwha Group, visited the Suwon grave site.

Attending the memorial service for the late Chairman Lee were Hong Ra-hee, former director of the Samsung Museum of Art Leeum, Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, Lee Boo-jin, President of Hotel Shilla, Lee Seo-hyun, Chairwoman of the Samsung Welfare Foundation and Advisor to Samsung Global Research, and Kim Jae-yeol, President of the International Skating Union. Current and former presidents and vice presidents, including Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, Jeon Young-mook, President of Samsung Life Insurance, and Ko Jung-seok, President of Samsung C&T Corporation, also attended to pay their respects.

Among business leaders, Kim Seung-yeon, Chairman of Hanwha, visited the family grave site to honor the late chairman. His eldest son Kim Dong-kwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Solutions, second son Kim Dong-won, Vice President of Hanwha Life Insurance, and third son Kim Dong-sun, Executive Director of Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, also attended together.

The memorial service was held in a private format without a separate memorial event, with only family members and executives participating, similar to the first anniversary. Vice Chairman Lee and his family arrived at the grave site around 10:50 a.m., stayed for about 30 minutes, and then left.

After the memorial service, Vice Chairman Lee and about 60 current presidents moved to the Samsung Human Resources Development Center in Yongin, where they watched a 2nd anniversary memorial video of the late Chairman Lee and shared lunch. Samsung did not hold a separate official memorial event but opened an online memorial hall within the company, allowing employees to leave condolence messages in comment form on the guestbook.

The online memorial hall titled "Today, We Meet the Chairman Again" included the message, "Just as you did, we will also move forward vigorously toward a new tomorrow." A 5-minute and 43-second memorial video honoring the late chairman was also posted on the company’s internal network.

The video introduced the late chairman’s achievements and philosophy, including ▲ visionary foresight and insight into the future ▲ bold challenges leading change and innovation ▲ the 'people first' philosophy valuing employees ▲ contributions to the nation and humanity. It featured his voice from new management lectures and speeches, as well as voices of senior business leaders and external figures recalling him.

In the video, pianist Baek Gun-woo said, "His support for the preservation and development of world culture is much greater than is known," and former Minister of Culture Lee Oi-ryeong recalled, "He did good deeds without anyone knowing."

The late chairman passed away at the age of 78 on October 25, 2020, at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul. He collapsed from acute myocardial infarction at his home in Itaewon-dong in May 2014 and was hospitalized for six years and five months before passing away. Following his father Lee Byung-chul, founder of Samsung Group, he served as the 2nd chairman and nurtured the semiconductor business, growing Samsung into a global company.

His management ability, which turned crises into opportunities through the 'New Management' declaration in 1993, famously stating "Change everything except your wife and children," became a model in the business world. The fact that most of his legacy is being returned to society by his family, including Vice Chairman Lee, is also regarded as exemplary in the business community. Following the late Chairman Lee’s wishes, the family has practiced social return of about 60% of the inheritance. Samsung donated more than 23,000 cultural assets and artworks collected by the late chairman throughout his life to national institutions to promote the development of Korean art. Samsung is also engaged in donation projects contributing 1 trillion won to medical causes such as infectious disease control and support for pediatric cancer and rare diseases.

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