Lee Byung-chull (February 12, 1910 in Uiryeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, – November 19, 1987 in Seoul) was the founder of the Samsung Group and one of South Korea's most successful businessmen. With the breakup of the Hyundai chaebol, Samsung is now South Korea's largest business group He was the son of a wealthy landowning family (a branch of the Gyeongju Lee clan).
He attended college at Waseda University in
Tokyo, but he did not complete his degree. Upon the early death of his father,
he used his inheritance to open a rice mill in his home town of Kyungnam. That
endeavor was not especially successful so he established a trucking business in
Daegu on March 1, 1938, which he named Samsung Trading Co, the forerunner to
Samsung.Samsung means "Three Stars" which explains the initial
corporate logos. Despite problems caused by Japan's rule over Korea, by 1945
Samsung was transporting goods throughout Korea and to other counties. The
company was based in Seoul by 1947. It was one of the ten largest "trading
companies" when the Korean War started in 1950.[3] With the conquest of
Seoul by the North Korean army, Lee was forced to relocate his business to
Pusan.
The massive influx of U.S. troops and equipment
into Pusan over the next year and a half of the war proved to be highly
beneficial to Lee's trucking company. In 1953 he founded Cheil Sugar which
became very successful and profitable. Using the income from Cheil Sugar, he
founded numerous other companies which sold products in a wide variety of
markets: textiles (Cheil Wool Textile Co.), cars, insurance, department stores
(Shinsegae), and consumer electronics. In 1961 when General Park seized power,
Lee was in Japan and for some time he did not return to South Korea.
Eventually a deal was struck and Lee returned but
Samsung had to give up control over the banks it acquired and follow economic
directives from Park's government. Later in life he served as chairman of the
Federation of Korean Industries and was known as the richest man in Korea.
After his death, his estate (Ho-Am) was opened to the public for tours. His
collection of Korean art is considered one of the largest and finest private
collections in the country and it features a number of art objects that have
been designated "National Treasures" by the Korean government.Ho-Am
is located a short distance from the Everland park, South Korea's most popular
amusement park (Everland is also owned by the Samsung Group).