Samsung president 'stable' after heart attack

Seoul, May 12 (IANS/EFE) Samsung Electronics President Lee Kun-hee is recovering in a hospital after suffering a heart attack this weekend, the Samsung Group said Monday.

The 72-year-old president of Samsung Electronics, part of the Samsung Group, is unconscious but his health status is "stable".

His wife and two daughters are by his side in the Samsung Medical Centre, a representative of the conglomerate told Efe.

The medical team treating Lee told local news agency Yonhap that "both emergency medical procedure as well as heart surgery were performed successfully" and the patient could breathe without an oxygen concentrator.

In any case, Lee Kun-hee remains unconscious due to his therapeutic hypothermia (TH) treatment, according to the doctors, who said that he would not regain consciousness till Tuesday morning.

After suffering a heart attack Saturday night, Lee Kun-hee received a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in a clinic near his residence in central Seoul before being transferred to the Samsung Medical Centre.

The executive's heart attack has unleashed speculation about the future of the company.

With around 270,000 employees worldwide, the Samsung Group is the largest South Korean business conglomerate. It was founded in 1938 and has been managed by the Lee family since then.

Till now, daily activities "have not suffered any alteration" after the hospitalisation of the president as he "did not participate in the management issues directly", the director of the communication team of the South Korean company told local media.

However, some experts say that Lee Kun-hee still takes final decisions on important issues, so his prolonged absence can affect the activities of Samsung Electronics as well as Samsung Group.

Also, it is believed that the company is speeding up the process of transferring Lee's powers to his son Jay-yong, the current vice-president of Samsung Electronics.

The process is being accelerated due to the health problems of the president, who underwent a lung operation at the end of the 1990s and since then has been suffering from respiratory problems.

Despite being known as an electronic company worldwide, Samsung has interests across a wide range of sectors such as heavy industry, maritime and air industry, chemical products, medical industry, industry of financing services, tourism and entertainment.

--IANS/EFE

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