The heirs of late Samsung chair Lee Kun-hee have sold a luxury villa in Seoul’s Itaewon district for 22.8 billion won (£13m) – likely to help pay South Korea’s largest-ever inheritance tax bill of around 12 trillion won (£6.8bn).
According to court registry records, the villa is jointly owned by Lee’s widow, Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art, and their three children – Lee Jae-yong, executive chairman of Samsung Electronics; Lee Boo-jin, president of Hotel Shilla; and Lee Seo-hyun, head of Samsung C&T’s fashion division. It was purchased in 2010 for 8.28 billion won and recently sold at a 175 per cent gain.
