14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung's Chairman has been sued over inheritance by several family members and, now, we finally know what his reaction is, not that it wasn't predictable.
Fighting over money has been going on ever since the mere concept of money came into being, so we were able to easily get over our surprise when Samsung's chairman was sued.
We still didn't really like the whole matter though, because this is one of those cases when cash breaks up a family.
Then again, the family was probably broken up already, to some extent. It if hadn’t been, the members would have managed to settle things internally, without all the international attention.
Nevertheless, here we are: Samsung's Chairman Lee Kun-hee is facing inheritance lawsuits started by his brother, sister and his nephew’s family.
They all argue that Lee concealed a large amount of group stocks by transferring it under his own name from the trust formed by Samsung's founder.
The chairman has finally given a public response: he won't budge an inch.
“The inheritance issue has already been settled by the late group founder, and everyone was given a share…for now, I will not give up a penny. I will appeal the case to the Supreme Court or even to the Constitutional Court if necessary,” Lee reportedly said.
It is, indeed, suspicious that Lee's family has waited for so long before finally coming out and blasting Lee with these court actions, all at once.
Then again, if he did conceal those shares, it makes sense that the deception could last so long without being spotted. Either way, the world can be a fickle place and we've seen stranger things happen, with or without premeditation.
We can't really guess how far this familial mess will go before everything is settled. While some form of out-of-court agreement is possible, it is just as feasible that the fight will really reach all the way to the Supreme Court. Lawyers and prosecutors are going to be busy.