The family that holds a controlling interest in the Samsung Group, are set to sell close to A$3.3 billion dollars’ worth of shares in the South Korean Company, due to taxes, a regulatory filing filed over the weekend reveals.
Inheritance tax in South Korea is among the highest in the world, and since the death of late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee in October 2020, his family members have been paying inheritance taxes in instalments with a five-year plan agreed to by South Korean authorities.
The family’s total inheritance tax amounted to A$19 billion when the Chairman of the conglomerate died last year.
The Korean Herald reports that according to the regulatory filing with the Financial Supervisory Service, Hong Ra-hee, the widow of Lee, and his two daughters — Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin and Samsung Welfare Foundation’s chief Lee Seo-hyun — signed a deal last Tuesday entrusting share disposal to Hana Bank.
Under the deal aimed at “inheritance tax payment,” Hana Bank is required to dispose of a 0.32 percent share Hong has in Samsung Electronics and a combined 0.18 percent share owned by the two daughters in the firm by April 30, 2024.
The Samsung Electronics shares up for sale amount to about 2.08 trillion won or $3.3 billion when the latest market closing price of 69,600 won per share is applied.
