Lee Kun-Hee, force behind Samsung's rise, dies at 78
Seoul: Lee Kun-Hee, the ailing Samsung Electronics chairman who transformed the small television maker into a global giant of consumer electronics, has died. He was 78.
A Samsung statement said Lee died on Sunday with his family members, including his son and de facto company chief Lee Jae-yong, by his side.
Lee Kun-Hee had been hospitalized since May 2014 after suffering a heart attack and the younger Lee has run Samsung, the biggest company in South Korea.
All of us at Samsung will cherish his memory and are grateful for the journey we shared with him, the Samsung statement said. Our deepest sympathies are with his family, relatives and those nearest. His legacy will be everlasting.
Lee Kun-hee inherited control from his father and during his nearly 30 years of leadership, Samsung Electronics Co. became a global brand and the world's largest maker of smartphones, televisions and memory chips. Samsung sells Galaxy phones while also making the screens and microchips that power its rivals, Apple's iPhones and Google Android phones.
Samsung helped make the nation's economy, Asia's fourth-largest. Its businesses encompass shipbuilding, life insurance, construction, hotels, amusement park operation and more. Samsung Electronics alone accounts for 20% of the market capital on South Korea's main stock market.
Lee leaves behind immense wealth, with Forbes estimating his fortune at 16 billion as of January 2017. His death comes during a complex time for Samsung.
When he was hospitalized, Samsung's once-lucrative mobile business faced threats from upstart makers in China and other emerging markets. Pressure was high to innovate its traditionally strong hardware business, to reform a stifling hierarchical culture and to improve its corporate governance and transparency.
Samsung was ensnared in the 2016-17 corruption scandal that led to then-President Park Geun-hye's impeachment and imprisonment. Its executives, including the younger Lee, were investigated by prosecutors who believed Samsung executives bribed Park to secure the government's backing for a smooth leadership transition from father to son.
In a previous scandal, Lee Kun-Hee was convicted in 2008 for illegal share dealings, tax evasion and bribery designed to pass his wealth and corporate control to his three children.
The late Lee was a stern, terse leader who focused on big-picture strategies, leaving details and daily management to executives.
His near-absolute authority allowed the company to make bold decisions in the fast-changing technology industry, such as shelling out billions to build new production lines for memory chips and display panels even as the 2008 global financial crisis unfolded. Those risky moves fueled Samsung's rise.
Lee was born Jan. 9, 1942, in the southeastern city of Daegu during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. His father Lee Byung-chull had founded an export business there in 1938 and following the 1950-53 Korean War, he rebuilt the company into an electronics and home appliance manufacturer and the country's first major trading company.
Lee Byung-chull was often called one of the fathers of modern industrial South Korea. Lee Kun-Hee was the third son and his inheritance of his father's businesses bucked the tradition of family wealth going to the eldest. One of Lee Kun-Hee's brothers sued for a bigger part of Samsung but lost the case.
When Lee Kun-Hee inherited control from his father in 1987, Samsung was relying on Japanese technology to produce TVs and was making its first steps into exporting microwaves and refrigerators.
The company was expanding its semiconductor factories after entering the business in 1974 by acquiring a near-bankrupt firm.
A decisive moment came in 1993. Lee Kun-Hee made sweeping changes to Samsung after a two-month trip abroad convinced him the company needed to improve the quality of its products.
In a speech to Samsung executives, he famously urged, Let's change everything except our wives and children. Not all his moves succeeded.
A notable failure was the group's expansion into the auto industry in the 1990s, in part driven by Lee Kun-Hee's passion for luxury cars. Samsung later sold near-bankrupt Samsung Motor to Renault. The company also was frequently criticized for disrespecting labor rights. Cancer cases among workers at its semiconductor factories were ignored for years.
In 2020, Lee Jae-yong declared heredity transfers at Samsung would end, promising the management rights he inherited wouldn't pass to his children. He also said Samsung would stop suppressing employee attempts to organize unions, although labor activists questioned his sincerity.
South Koreans are both proud of Samsung's global success and concerned the company and Lee family are above the law and influence over almost every corner of society.
Critics particularly note how Lee Kun-Hee's only son gained immense wealth through unlisted shares of Samsung firms that later went public.
In 2007, a former company lawyer accused Samsung of wrongdoing in a book that became a best seller in South Korea. Lee Kun-Hee was subsequently indicted on tax evasion and other charges.
Lee resigned as chairman of Samsung Electronics and was convicted and sentenced to a suspended three-year prison term. He received a presidential pardon in 2009 and returned to Samsung's management in 2010.
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FIR registered against BJP MLA Janardhana Reddy after clash over installation of banner
Ballari (PTI): An FIR was registered on Friday against BJP MLA Janardhana Reddy and 10 others in connection with alleged violent clashes that erupted over installation of banners ahead of a Valmiki statue unveiling programme in the city, police said.
Security was beefed up in Ballari, even as the situation remained peaceful, a day after clashes allegedly broke out between supporters of BJP MLA Janardhana Reddy and Congress MLA Bharath Reddy over the installation of banners, they said.
One person was killed during the incident on Thursday, police said.
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"The situation was brought under control, and additional security has been deployed. At present, the situation remains peaceful, and all precautionary measures have been taken to ensure that no untoward incident occurs," a senior police officer said.
In his complaint, 47-year-old Chanala Shekhar stated that MLA Bharat Reddy is undertaking various development works in the city, including roads and public projects. As part of this, a grand programme was organised near SP Circle for the unveiling of a Valmiki statue.
"On January 1, between 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm, the accused, Janardhan Reddy, Somasekhar Reddy, and others, allegedly damaged the banners put up for the unveiling ceremony near Janardhan Reddy's house," he alleged.
When he and Sathish Reddy questioned them, the accused, along with their supporters, picked up a fight and attacked them with the intention of killing them, the FIR stated. The complainant further alleged that the police officer, Srinivas, who intervened, was also injured.
Based on the complaint filed at Brucepet police station, the FIR was registered against Janardhana Reddy, Somasekhar Reddy, and nine others under sections of 109 (attempt to murder), 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 191 (2) (rioting), 189 (2) (unlawful assembly), 118 (1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 190 (making every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offense committed), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police added.
Videos circulating on social media showed a private gunman allegedly firing shots into the air as tension gripped the area.
The confrontation occurred ahead of a Valmiki statue unveiling programme scheduled to be held in the city on January 3.
According to police, supporters of Bharath Reddy were attempting to install banners in front of Janardhana Reddy's residence in the Avambhavi area, which was opposed by the latter's supporters, leading to a heated exchange.
What began as a verbal altercation soon escalated into a physical clash, with supporters from both sides allegedly resorting to stone-pelting. Police sources said stones were also hurled at personnel who rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control.
Several people were injured during the incident, and their number and identities were being verified, police said.
As the situation threatened to spiral out of control, police resorted to a lathi charge and had also fired bullets in the air to disperse the crowd and restore order.
Police said investigations are underway to ascertain the sequence of events and verify the allegations.
