Posted on 11/25/2005 11:19:13 PM PST by HAL9000
SEOUL/NEW YORK, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- The youngest daughter of Lee Kun-hee, chairman of South Korea's largest conglomerate Samsung Group, took her own life last week, and did not die from a car accident as previously reported, a Samsung official confirmed Saturday."We missed an opportunity to explain it as the media broke the story first," the official said on condition of anonymity, noting that the company found out about her suicide after its own investigation.
Initially, the North American headquarters of Samsung Electronics Co. told the press on Monday that she had had a car accident and was "medically dead."
But Lee Yoon-hyung, 26, was actually found last Friday to have hanged herself in her residence near New York University where she was studying, according to an informed source. It was not immediately known whether she left a suicide note.
"As far as I know, Yoon-hyung, who was cheerful and lively in Korea, felt very lonely in the U.S. Her suicide is closely associated with her not getting used to studying alone abroad," the official said, asking to remain anonymous.
Unlike the chairman's other children, who tend to keep a low profile, Lee's third daughter received public and media attention on several occasions, such as when she opened a personal Web page in 2003.
But she suffered from severe depression during her stay in the U.S. after a plan to marry her Korean boyfriend was opposed by her parents, the source said. They broke up before she left for the U.S. in September.
"We inquired about whether there was any report presumed to be her car accident in New York and nearby New Jersey. But the answer was no," a South Korean official at the Korean Consulate General in New York said, asking to remain anonymous.
Samsung Chairman Lee has been staying in the United States since late September for medical examinations, but he and his wife did not attend her funeral. Only by a small number of immediate family members were on hand.
Lee's family members, including the chairman's only son Jay-yong, had gone to the hospital and confirmed her death.
The news is the latest in a series of unfortunate developments for the business group and its owning family.
The claimed purpose of the Samsung chairman's U.S. sojourn was to receive a checkup at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he underwent surgery for lung cancer in 2000.
But observers in South Korea believe Lee may have in fact fled the country since he was suspected of corruption and bribery in connection with the presidential election and business deals.
The 64-year-old is suspected of ordering subordinates to funnel large sums of illegal donations to presidential candidates in 1997, and of ordering a hostile takeover of then-troubled Kia Motors Corp. in violation of the Fair Trade Act.
His son Jay-yong and other children also face prosecution investigation following an October ruling by a Seoul district court that found two Samsung executives guilty of arranging an illicit transfer of the chairman's wealth to his children.
The Samsung chairman reportedly left the Houston medical center in late September, but his whereabouts are currently unknown.
She cared enough about her dad to call of her engagement for him, yet the as@hole couldnt even attend her funeral.
As always, thanks for the info.
<< The founding family of Samsung is in a real mess, some of which is its own creation >>
Misreporting the daughter's death is a sure sign of corruption at the top levels. Let's hope this issue becomes the spotlight that outs the cockroaches of this corrupt corporation.
And she was gorgeous to boot. How sad.
Proof that money can't buy happiness.
But I would sure like to find out for myself.
The article above says it is Korean custom that parents don't attend the funeral of an unmarried child.
Don't get it, but there you are.
(straight from BabelFish)
Did you read down to post 14?
" According to Korean customs, parents do not attend the funeral of their sons or daughters when they die unmarried. "
>>
. . . any good NYC university is filled to the brim with the smartest, prettiest etc.
<<
You haven't walked through Washington Square lately, have you.
Damn didnt' attend her funeral man what cold family
I heard that white male passersby remarked that she was "pretty." Could this have aroused jealosy in local NYC white girls as well as Korean guys and so she could not cope.
Curious as to why this is being brought up again so many months later ... there are no knew developments to warrant it.
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