Lee's death raises questions over Samsung's future in electronics industry

The death of its iconic promoter, Lee Kun-hee, raises questions over how long the chaebol can maintain its gigantic footprint in the global electronics industry

The death of Lee Kun-hee last week, after a prolonged illness, sparked turmoil in the $375 billion Samsung Group. The 78-year-old Lee had taken over the giant chaebol (conglomerate in Korean) in 1987, after the death of his father, Lee Byung-chull, who founded Samsung in 1938.

In the 1980s, Samsung was primarily a noodle-trading and trucking business. Kun-hee turned it into an engineering giant. Today, Samsung is the global leader in mobile phones, with a gigantic footprint across many other electronics segments. It has over 76,000 active patents, in cutting-edge electronics and associated areas, like special glasses. This is quite