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Samsung heir didn't dodge — and that was big news in Korea

Published: 03 Dec. 2025, 07:00 Updated: 03 Dec. 2025, 19:35

PARK EUN-JEE
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Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and his mother Hong Ra-hee, right, and Lee Jee-ho, the chairman’s son, salute each other during a commissioning ceremony at the Korea Naval Academy in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on Nov. 28. [YONHAP]

[EXPLAINER]

Korean media outlets gave wall-to-wall coverage — including livestreams — of the commissioning ceremony for Lee Jee-ho, the 24-year-old son of Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, in a spectacle more befitting a royal.

Chairman Lee and his mother, Hong Ra-hee, were seen cheering on the fresh second lieutenant, who served as a representative officer in the ceremony. Lee Jae-yong’s ex-wife, Lim Se-ryeong, also attended the event, which took place in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on Nov. 28.

Videos of the young Lee have generated millions of views and thousands of comments on YouTube.

“Leaving behind the life of ease that he could have had as a holder of U.S. citizenship, this proud son of Korea chose, of his own accord, to become a soldier of Korea,” a netizen commented, complimenting Lee Jee-ho's decision to give up his dual citizenship to become a commissioned officer.

The celebratory and admiring tone may feel slightly overblown to some, especially since conscription is required in Korea for all able-bodied men, but behind it lies a decadeslong history of high-profile draft evasion scandals.

Why all the buzz?

Military enlistment has long been considered a critical measure of fairness and public trust in Korea — more so in the wake of repeated draft-dodging scandals involving conglomerate heirs and celebrities.

A military scandal can be career-ending, especially for celebrities, many of whom rarely return to the spotlight. And though the military exemption rate for conglomerate family members in recent years remains unknown, none of the current chairmen of Korea's four largest conglomerates served as active-duty soldiers.

Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hyundai Motor Executive Chair Euisun Chung were exempted, reportedly due to health issues, and LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo served as an industrial technician as part of the country’s conscription alternative.

Consequently, when the news broke that Lee Jee-ho had chosen to serve as a naval officer, it struck many as both surprising and deeply symbolic — a rare moment of justice in a system that many view as unequal.

Samsung Electronics appears to have embraced the positive national reaction, distributing official images of the heir before his naval training.

Are there other factors behind the frenzy?

Lee Jee-ho takes an oath during the commissioning ceremony. [YONHAP]

The fact that he chose to become a commissioned officer — rather than an enlisted soldier, a more common move — received such a positive public response because the post comes with stricter rules regarding dual citizenship.

Dual citizens who want to keep their foreign passport must enlist in the army otherwise, they must give up their Korean citizenship. Commissioned officers, however, must give up their foreign passport even before applying to the military, risking rejection.

The act of renouncing one's Korean citizenship to avoid military service is perceived with deep cynicism in Korea — often drawing accusations of betrayal, as seen with singer Yoo Seung-jun, also known as Steve Yoo, who gave up his Korean citizenship and became a naturalized U.S. citizen before enlistment. He was later banned from the country.

Lee Jee-ho's decision to give up his U.S. citizenship delivers a heroic narrative about choosing duty and his homeland over privilege and convenience.

Is Lee Jee-ho the first young heir to enlist?

Chey Min-jeong, the second daughter of SK Chairman Chey Tae-won who served as a commissioned naval officer, salutes during a homecoming ceremony in Busan in 2015. [NEWS 1]

No. There was Chey Min-jeong, the second daughter of SK Chairman Chey Tae-won. Like the younger Lee, the junior Chey joined the Navy as a commissioned officer in 2014 at the age of 22 — a move that stirred just as much attention, particularly because she was a woman and not subject to mandatory military service.

When it comes to older-generation heirs, many consider Hanwha — a conglomerate rooted in the defense industry — as an exemplary family in terms of fulfilling military duty. Hanwha Chairman Kim Seung-yeon and his brother Kim Ho-youn, the chairman of Binggrae and founder and head of the Air Force Historical Foundation, both fulfilled their military duty by serving as officers in the Air Force.

Kim Seung-yeon’s two eldest sons, Hanwha Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan and Hanwha Life CEO Kim Dong-won, also served in the Air Force.

HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun was commissioned through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, a college-based officer training program, in 2005 and served in the army, following in the footsteps of his father, Chung Mong-joon.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [[email protected]]