South Korean billionaire Lee Jae-yong to receive $1.9 billion in Samsung shares from mother

South Korean billionaire Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, is set to receive 11.16 million shares worth approximately $1.9 billion from his mother, Hong Ra-hee, in a gift that will increase his direct stake in the technology group as the family continues to restructure its holdings.

According to a regulatory filing disclosed on October 13, Hong will transfer 11,158,000 Samsung Electronics common shares to Lee under a gift agreement signed on October 12. The transfer is scheduled for November 12. Based on the shares’ reported market value of approximately 2.6 trillion won, or $1.9 billion, the transaction represents about 0.17% of Samsung Electronics.

Following the transfer, Lee’s stake in Samsung Electronics is expected to increase from 1.58% to 1.75%, while Hong’s holding will decline from 0.99% to 0.82%. Lee’s direct holdings will rise to 116.38 million shares, according to the disclosure. The transfer will not change the Lee family’s combined ownership because the shares are moving between family members.

The gift follows a separate transaction in which Lee purchased Samsung Electronics shares from his mother. That earlier deal involved a cash payment of approximately 1.92 trillion won and was disclosed in September. Unlike the purchase, the latest transaction transfers shares without payment, creating a potential gift-tax liability for Lee.

South Korean media estimate the gift tax at approximately 1.56 trillion won. The final amount will depend on the applicable valuation rules, including share prices around the transfer date, and is expected to be determined after the gift is completed.

The transactions come against the backdrop of the Samsung family’s efforts to manage the financial obligations arising from the inheritance of the estate of former chairman Lee Kun-hee, who died in 2020. His estate was subject to one of South Korea’s largest inheritance-tax bills, prompting family members to sell shares and arrange financing to meet their obligations.

Lee, who became Samsung Electronics executive chairman in 2022, occupies a central role in the group’s leadership. Samsung Electronics remains a major global producer of smartphones, memory chips and consumer electronics, with its performance increasingly shaped by demand for advanced semiconductors used in artificial intelligence systems.

The latest gift will strengthen Lee’s direct shareholding in Samsung Electronics, although his influence over the wider Samsung group also depends on the ownership structure linking its affiliates. The transfer is not expected to change the family’s combined stake, but it shifts a larger portion of its direct Samsung Electronics holding to the company’s chairman.