I feel like a sense of emptiness...

Samsung Chairman’s Daughter Dies

By Kim Tong-hyungStaff Reporter

Lee Yun-hyung, 26, the youngest daughter of Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee, was confirmed Monday to have died in an automobile accident in New York City last week. Lee, who graduated from French literature Ewha Womans University in Seoul, had begun studying at New York University this year. She owns 8.37 percent of Samsung Everland, the de facto holding company of the Korea’s largest conglomerate.

A company manager said Tuesday that the funeral for the younger Lee was held at a hospital in New York Monday, but was not attended by Samsung chairman Lee. Chairman Lee has been staying in the United Since September for post-operative cancer treatment. Lee’s wife Hong Ra-hee, his only son and oldest child Lee Jae-yong, vice president of Samsung Electronics, his oldest daughter Lee Pu-jin, vice president of the Shilla Hotel, his second daughter Lee Seo-hyun, vice president of Cheil Industries, attended the memorial service of their youngest family member, the manager said. He declined to comment on the details of the automobile accident.

The tragic death of the youngest Lee came at a time when Samsung faces a public outcry over allegations of corruption and financial irregularities. There are suspicions that chairman Lee, 64, is extending his stay in the U.S. to weather the storm surrounding the prosecution’s investigation into Samsung Everland, the amusement park unit of the group, after allegations that the company’s wealth was unlawfully transferred to the founding family. In October, a Seoul court found two Everland executives guilty of arranging the illicit transfer of the chairman’s wealth to his children through their company. Prosecutors are also expanding their investigation into the allegations that Samsung provided slush funds of up to 10 billion won to presidential candidates ahead of the 1997 elections. The accusations stem from a television news report revealing the content of a wiretapped conversation between a Samsung executive and a newspaper publisher discussing the provision of slush funds to presidential candidates in 1997. There is a possibility that Lee could be questioned over his alleged involvement in both the Everland and campaign fund cases. In July, the civic group People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) filed a request with the prosecution to investigate 20 current and former Samsung executives, including chairman Lee, over their alleged corrupt ties with politicians.

I was quite shocked by this news because many Korean are favorably disposed toward her.

It is know she had an open nature and even launched her own website, unlike her siblings, who prefer to keep a low profile. There was a happening that she had to close the site due to a deluge of visitors in September of 2003.

In fact, She is the third richest woman in Korea. According to a recent survey conducted by the Forbes Korea, Lee Yun-hyung, younger sister of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, accounted for more than one-fifth of the assets held by Korea’s top 50 richest women.

It is hard for me to believe the fact that such a rich person can easily die by a common car accident. I may have an idea the lives of rich people are very different from me like ordinary people. From this news, I keenly realised that everyone is the same about the matter of death. That is, whether a person have a lot of money or not, eventually his/her life depends on God. Money is just vein in front of death. I became deeply grateful to God for living and decided I would live more actively and ardently.