Samsung Scion Lee Takes Helm of Korean Technology Empire

  • Ascension of the Lee family scion has long been anticipated
  • Elevation emerges during political and business turbulence
Jay Y. LeePhotographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
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Samsung Electronics Co. named Jay Y. Lee executive chairman of South Korea’s largest company, finalizing a long-anticipated elevation just as a supply chain crisis and escalating geopolitical tensions roil the world’s biggest chipmaker.

The board approved the 54-year-old’s ascension to the helm of the $250 billion company Thursday, Samsung said in a statement. While Lee had been expected to take over the post after his father died in 2020, his ascension had been delayed by graft investigations and two stints in jail.