Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art, Lee Bu-jin, president of Hotel Shilla, and Lee Seo-hyun, president of Samsung C&T, members of Samsung's owner family, will sell Samsung Electronics equity worth 1.7 trillion won to pay inheritance taxes. With this equity sale, Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong's stake in Samsung Electronics will, for the first time, surpass that of his mother, Honorary Director Hong Ra-hee of the Leeum Museum of Art.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 17th, Honorary Director Hong, Hotel Shilla President Lee Bu-jin, and Samsung C&T President Lee Seo-hyun signed a trust agreement the previous day with Shinhan Bank to dispose of 17,716,000 shares of Samsung Electronics. Based on the closing price that day (97,900 won), the sale amounts to about 1.7344 trillion won. The contract runs through Apr. 30 next year, and Shinhan Bank will sell the shares in batches during the period.
The stated purpose of the disposal in the filing is "tax payment and loan repayment." The taxes they owe are inheritance taxes imposed after the death of former Chair Lee Kun-hee in 2020, with four members of the Samsung owner family making partitioning payments totaling 12 trillion won over six installments across five years. The final installment is due in April next year, requiring funding of about 2 trillion won.
Specifically, Honorary Director Hong will sell a total of 10 million shares under the agreement. Her holdings will fall from 97,978,700 shares (1.66%) to 87,978,700 shares (1.49%) after the disposal. Chair Lee Jae-yong's stake (97,414,196 shares, 1.65%) will surpass his mother's for the first time.
President Lee Bu-jin will sell 6 million shares, lowering her equity from 0.81% to 0.71%, and President Lee Seo-hyun will dispose of 1,716,000 shares, reducing hers from 0.80% to 0.77%.
The three women have so far combined equity sales in Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, and Samsung SDS with stock-backed loans to raise funds for inheritance taxes. Chair Lee, however, is said to be securing funds through personal loans and dividends instead of selling shares. Lee is currently managing at Samsung Electronics and other affiliates without pay.