Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong departed to attend a gala celebrating the "Lee Kun-hee Collection" exhibition in Washington, D.C.
Lee entered the Gimpo Business Aviation Center (SGBAC) in Gangseo District, Seoul, at about 4:46 p.m. on the 26th to board a charter flight to the United States. When asked by reporters for his thoughts on the successful opening of the first overseas special exhibition of the "Lee Kun-hee Collection," Lee smiled and said, "It's cold, and you're working hard." Park Hark-kyu , head of the Business Support Office (president) at Samsung Electronics, Kim Won-kyung, head of Global External Relations (president) at Samsung Electronics, and Ahn Joong-hyun, head of the M&A Team at the Business Support Office (president) at Samsung Electronics, were among those accompanying Lee on his departure.
◇ Samsung family to attend first overseas gala for "Lee Kun-hee Collection" exhibition
The gala celebrating the "Lee Kun-hee Collection" exhibition that Lee will attend will be held in Washington, D.C., on the 28th (local time). Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of Leeum Museum of Art, Lee Boo-jin, president of Hotel Shilla, and Lee Seo-hyun, president of Samsung C&T, are also expected to attend.
The special exhibition "Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared," sponsored by Samsung and co-hosted by the National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, opened at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art on Nov. 15 last year. Planned as the first overseas traveling exhibition of works donated by the late Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung Group, the show runs through the 1st of next month.
About 320 works selected from the roughly 23,000 pieces Lee donated to the state were displayed. They include seven National Treasures, such as "Inwang Jesaekdo" by late Joseon painter Gyeomjae Jeong Seon, and 15 Treasures. Cultural assets held by the National Museum of Korea, such as Kim Hong-do's "Chuseongbudo," and modern and contemporary artworks owned by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, such as Kim Whanki's "Sanullim," were also presented together. The exhibition proved popular, drawing more than 50,000 cumulative visitors.
Samsung prepared the gala ahead of the exhibition's close. The event commemorates the successful conclusion of the largest Korean classical art exhibition in North America in about 40 years and aims to highlight Lee's spirit of "devotion to the nation through culture" (文化報國). Not only the Samsung owner family but also presidents of major Samsung Group affiliates and prominent figures from U.S. politics and business are said to be attending in large numbers. Following the National Museum of Asian Art, the Lee Kun-hee Collection exhibition will open sequentially at the Art Institute of Chicago (March 7–July 5, 2026) and the British Museum (Sept. 10, 2026–Jan. 10, 2027).
◇ Inheritance tax payment wraps in April… "the last chance to regain competitiveness"
The gala draws industry attention as it coincides with the Samsung owner family gathering at the moment the late chairman's estate is being settled after five years. Since Apr. 2021, the bereaved family has used an installment payment system to spread out the taxes. Once they pay the final installment in April, the total inheritance tax of 12 trillion won will be fully paid.
In the process, Honorary Director Hong, President Lee Boo-jin, and President Lee Seo-hyun sold 728.33 billion won worth of equity across 16 transactions through the end of last year, including shares of Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung Life Insurance, and Samsung SDS. In addition, on the 9th, Honorary Director Hong secured more than 2 trillion won in additional funds by signing a trust agreement with Shinhan Bank to dispose of 15 million shares of Samsung Electronics stock for "tax payment and loan repayment."
Lee paid the inheritance tax through dividends and loans instead of selling stock. As a result, Lee's equity stake in Samsung Electronics increased from 0.7% before the inheritance to 1.45%. Lee's equity in Samsung C&T rose from 17.33% to 20.82%, and the stake in Samsung Life Insurance increased from 0.06% to 10.44%. Lee's control over Samsung Group has become even more solid.
Amid these developments, Lee has been emphasizing the late chairman's management philosophy. Samsung is conducting "values education to restore Samsung-ness" for about 2,000 executives at vice president level and below across all affiliates, including Samsung Electronics. The program reportedly includes a video on the late chairman's "sandwich crisis theory," along with Lee's message that "this is not the time to be complacent just because the numbers have improved. It is the last chance to regain competitiveness." In Jan. 2007, at a meeting of the chairmen of the Federation of Korean Industries, the late chairman said, "With China catching up and Japan ahead, the Korean economy is in a sandwich position."
Samsung Electronics, the group's flagship affiliate, said on the 8th that its operating profit for the fourth quarter of last year was tentatively tallied at 20 trillion won. That was up 208.17% from a year earlier, marking an "all-time quarterly high." Annual sales are also expected to reach a record 332.77 trillion won. Shares have topped 150,000 won. Even so, observers say Lee's revival of the "sandwich crisis theory" reflects a sense of crisis that strategic choices between the United States and China have grown more important, with the associated expense burden also increasing.