Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, left, accompanies his mother, Hong Ra-hee during an event at the Seoul National University's Children's Hospital in Jongno District, central Seoul, in 2024.SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong plans to buy 1.94 trillion won ($1.45 billion) worth of Samsung Electronics shares from his mother, Hong Ra-hee, the honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art, on Oct. 12.
If the transaction goes ahead as planned, Lee’s stake in Samsung will rise from the current 1.47 percent to 1.58 percent.
Lee plans to purchase 7,188,793 common shares held by Hong in an off-market transaction on Oct. 12, according to a regulatory filing posted on the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on Wednesday. The shares represent 0.11 percent of Samsung Electronics’ outstanding stock.
The filing said the purpose of the transaction is to acquire shares from a related stakeholder.
The planned purchase price is 269,500 won per share, based on Tuesday's closing price, the last trading day before the filing was submitted. At that price, the transaction would be worth approximately 1.94 trillion won.
Lee currently owns 97,551,953 shares of Samsung Electronics, which represents a 1.47 percent stake. If the transaction proceeds as planned, his holdings will increase to 104,740,746 shares. The transaction would bring Lee’s holdings above 100 million shares for the first time.
The number of shares and the price disclosed in the filing are not final. Under applicable rules, the actual value of the transaction may range from 70 percent to 130 percent of the planned approximately 1.94 trillion won, so the final price per share and number of shares could also change.
The reason for the transaction has not been disclosed. Some in the business community speculate that Hong could use the proceeds to repay money borrowed from financial institutions to help cover inheritance taxes following the death of her husband and former Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who passed away in 2020.
A photo of the late Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee is accompanied by quotes he made in the Samsung Electronics office in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Oct. 18, 2023.YONHAP
The Samsung family completed the payment of roughly 12 trillion won in inheritance taxes in April by paying in six installments over five years from 2021.
To raise the money for the tax payments, Hong and the late chairman’s children — Hotel Shilla President Lee Boo-jin and Samsung C&T President Lee Seo-hyun — sold shares in Samsung affiliates or took out loans backed by their stock holdings.
Hong also sold 15 million Samsung Electronics shares through a block trade in April for about 3.08 trillion won. The sale reduced her stake in the company from 1.49 percent to 1.24 percent. The proceeds were used to help make the family's final inheritance tax payment.
This transaction is different in that, rather than Hong selling more Samsung Electronics shares on the open market, Lee Jae-yong will buy the stake directly from his mother. For the chairman, the deal would mean spending about 1.94 trillion won to increase his direct ownership of Samsung Electronics.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
