(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Mar. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung is set to celebrate its 80th anniversary this week without official events, industry watchers said Tuesday, as it seeks to avoid public attention after the release of its de facto heir Lee Jae-yong from prison.
The family-controlled group, whose major affiliates include Samsung Electronics Co. and Samsung C&T Corp., has been embroiled in a political scandal that led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye.
Lee was released last month after being locked up for nearly a year for apparently providing bribes to Park and her close friend.
“We are cautious about everything due to the negative public sentiment,” a Samsung official said.
Samsung was first established in March 1938 as a trading company, which later became Samsung C&T. The business group expanded industries, including electronics over the past decades.
Besides the scandal involving the heir, the conglomerate is also downbeat as its Chairman Lee Kun-hee, the father of Jae-yong, has been hospitalized after suffering a heart attack in 2014.
(Yonhap)
