The widow and daughters of the late Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee are struggling to reduce their interest payments as they seek funds to cover their inheritance tax totaling 12 trillion won ($8.9 billion) from Lee’s passing.

Lee Boo-jin, chief executive officer of Hotel Shilla Co. and Lee’s eldest daughter, entered a trust agreement with Hana Bank on March 15th, 2024, to divest the over 5.24 million shares she owns in Samsung Electronics Co., valued at about 414 billion won based on Friday‘s stock price of 78,900 won. Hana Bank will sell her stake via after-hours trading and other means. After the sale of her stake, Lee Boo-jin’s ownership of Samsung Electronics will decrease to 0.8 percent from 0.89 percent.

The Hotel Shilla leader has been repaying loans and reducing interest rates in recent months. She repaid 130 billion won of her 200 billion won loan from Hana Securities Co. in January 2024 using 476 million Samsung Electronics shares as collateral, securing a lower interest rate of 5.3 percent from 5.5 percent on this loan a month later. She also adjusted the interest rate on her 100 billion won loan secured by Samsung Electronics shares from Korea Investment & Securities Co. to 5.3 percent from 5.4 percent, and on another 150 billion won loan secured by Samsung Electronics shares from Hyundai Motor Securities Co. to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent, in February 2024.

Hong Ra-hee, Lee Kun-hee’s widow and former director of Leeum Museum of Art, recently repaid 500 billion won of a 980 billion won loan from Meritz Securities Co. with funds from the sale of about 13.16 million Samsung Electronics shares. She used her 25.79 million Samsung Electronics shares as collateral for the loan and now has a remaining loan of 480 billion won after the sale. Hong also renegotiated a 175 billion won loan secured by 6.28 million Samsung Electronics shares from Korea Investment & Securities, reducing the interest rate to 5.3 percent from 5.4 percent.

Lee Seo-hyun, chair of the Samsung Welfare Foundation and Lee Kun-hee‘s younger daughter, repaid 80 billion won of a 100 billion won loan secured by Samsung Electronics shares from Hana Securities, with the interest rate on this loan reduced to 5.3 percent from 5.5 percent in February 2024. She also adjusted the interest rate on a 640 billion won loan secured by Samsung C&T Corp. shares from Hana Securities to 5.3 percent from 5.5 percent.

By Choi Seung-jin and Chang Iou-chung

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