Chairman Lee Ye-yong and other family members, including his mother Hong Ra-hae and sisters Lee Bo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun, paid the amount in six installments over the past five years. The tax liability is related to the estate of the company's late chairman Lee Kun-hee, who passed away in October 2020.
Samsung is South Korea's largest conglomerate, or family-owned conglomerate, with businesses spanning electronics, heavy industry, construction and financial services. Lee Kun-hee left behind a fortune worth 26 trillion won, including stocks, real estate and art collections. The family said at the time that "paying taxes is a natural duty of citizens."
The family's wealth doubled in a year
Samsung confirmed yesterday that the final installment had been paid. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the Lee family has a combined wealth of more than $45 billion.
Their wealth has more than doubled in the past year, driven primarily by strong demand for computer chips in the global artificial intelligence industry, which has boosted the market value of Samsung Electronics.
In addition to chip production, Samsung's technology division includes one of the world's largest smartphone manufacturers and a major television manufacturer.
