Samsung Leader Stable After Heart Attack

Posted by Unknown on Sunday, May 11, 2014

International Business |Samsung’s Chairman Has Cardiac Procedure After Heart Attack

Lee Kun-hee in 2012. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

SEOUL — The chairman of Samsung Electronics Company, the flagship of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate, had a cardiac procedure on Sunday after suffering a heart attack, the Samsung Medical Center said in a statement.

The chairman, Lee Kun-hee, 72, is now in recovery. Mr. Lee had trouble breathing on Saturday night and was admitted late on Saturday night to a hospital, where he received cardiopulmonary resuscitation for symptoms of cardiac arrest, the statement said.

He was then transferred to Samsung Medical Center, where he had a cardiac procedure for acute myocardial infarction, and is now in stable condition, the center added.

Mr. Lee has had problems with his respiratory system since surgery for lung cancer in 1999. He was hospitalized with symptoms of light pneumonia in August.

Samsung Group, which has assets of about 435 trillion won, spanning handset-making to ship building to medical services, has been restructuring ahead of a widely expected transfer of ownership to the third generation of the founding family.

On Thursday, its IT solutions affiliate, Samsung SDS, announced plans to list shares on the local stock market this year, a signal of additional restructuring of family ownership in the conglomerate.

In recent years, Mr. Lee has also promoted his children to top positions and has shuffled affiliates.

Mr. Lee’s son Jay Y. Lee, who is vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, is expected to eventually succeed his father as chairman of the flagship unit.