Samsung heirs to pay record $10.7B in inheritance taxes

SEOUL: Heirs of late Samsung Group chief Lee Kun-hee said on Wednesday that they would pay more than 12 trillion won ($10.7 billion) in inheritance taxes, the largest-ever in the country's history, but did not reveal how they would split inherited stocks among them, a key issue in reshaping the ownership of the nation's No 1 conglomerate.

They said they will also donate 1 trillion won to support the virus fight and research for rare child diseases, and around 23,000 pieces of the senior Lee's art collections, estimated to be valued at about 2 trillion won. The announcement came two days before their deadline to report and pay inheritance taxes to the authorities. Lee was survived by his wife, Hong Ra-hee, only son, Jae-yong, and two daughters — Boo-jin and Seo-hyun. The senior Lee, who was South Korea's richest man, died in October last year and left assets estimated to be worth more than 22 trillion won, including stocks valued at around 19 trillion won. When real estate is counted, his assets may top 25 trillion won.

Lee's family said they will pay inheritance taxes in installments. They can pay one-sixth of inherited assets by the end of this month and pay the rest over the next five years, reports Yonhap news agency.

They are likely to fund their inheritance taxes with stock dividends but could also get bank loans to pay about 2 trillion won annually for receiving the late chairman's fortune. (IANS)

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