Samsung’s founding family has fully paid off the huge inheritance tax debt that arose following the death of former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. The payment of approximately 12 trillion won corresponds to a size of over 8 billion dollars at the current exchange rate. The family closed the largest inheritance tax file in South Korean history with a payment plan of 6 installments extending from 2021 to 2026. The Samsung family paid $ 8 billion of the $ 17.6 billion inheritance in taxes!
Lee Kun-hee, the former president of Samsung, passed away in October 2020. Following Lee’s death, his family was informed by Samsung Electronics, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung C. These names included Samsung Electronics President Lee Jae-yong, Lee Kun-hee’s wife Hong Ra-hee, and his daughters Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun. The family started the payment process in 2021 and paid off the debt in 6 installments completed in 2026.
The size of the payment becomes even more remarkable when compared to South Korea’s inheritance tax revenues. The 12 trillion won tax paid by the Samsung family is approximately 1.5 times the total inheritance tax revenue collected by South Korea in 2024. The country’s 2024 inheritance tax revenue was approximately 8.2 trillion won. The important distinction in this process was that the payment was made from the personal assets of family members, not from Samsung company coffers.
Share sales, dividend income, bank loans and different financing methods were used to pay the tax debt. Samsung shares held by the family constituted one of the most critical items in the payment process. Lee Kun-hee’s wife, Hong Ra-hee, disposed of her 15 million shares in Samsung Electronics through a block sale in April 2026. Approximately 3.1 trillion won was provided from this sale. The sale was among the transactions made for inheritance tax and loan repayment.
On the Lee Jae-yong side, the situation progressed differently. The Chairman of Samsung Electronics maintained his position in the core group companies throughout the payment process. After the inheritance process, Samsung Electronics and Samsung C
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