The biggest chaebol sibling feud is entering a second round as the older brother of Lee Kun-hee, who runs Samsung Group, refuses to accept a court ruling denying him a greater share of the family’s wealth.
Lee Maeng-hee, the 82-year-old first son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull, yesterday appealed a ruling by the Seoul Central District Court earlier this month that favored his younger brother Kun-hee in an inheritance dispute worth 4 trillion won ($3.8 billion). Yesterday was the deadline for filing an appeal.
A year ago, Maeng-hee, former chairman of CJ Group, filed a lawsuit against his younger brother demanding the return of part of an inheritance that, he said, Kun-hee secretly incorporated into his assets through borrowed-name accounts. Although the Samsung founder passed away in 1987, Maeng-hee insisted he didn’t know his inheritance had been pocketed by his brother until a June 2011 tax probe.
Maeng-hee asked for ownership of shares in the Samsung Electronics and Samsung Life Insurance.
On Feb. 1, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that the 10-year statute of limitations for inheritance issues had expired for the stake in Samsung Life Insurance, though some of the stocks were indeed left to Maeng-hee and other siblings.
Regarding claims to Samsung Electronics, the court ruled it was difficult to consider the stakes as part of the siblings’ original inheritance.
