Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, head of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate, dies at 78

Lee Kun-hee, charismatic leader of Samsung Group, South Korea’s biggest conglomerate, died on Sunday, the company said, six months after he was hospitalised for a heart attack.

Lee, who was 78, helped grow his father Lee Byung-chull’s noodle trading business into a powerhouse, with dozens of affiliates stretching from electronics and insurance to shipbuilding and construction.