Lee In-hee, an adviser to Hansol Group and the eldest daughter of Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull, died of an illness Wednesday. She was 90.

Born in 1929, Lee was the eldest daughter of Lee Byung-chull, who has three sons and five daughters.

Her younger brothers are Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, late CJ Group Honorary Chairman Lee Maeng-hee, who died in 2015, and late Saehan Media Chairman Lee Chang-hee, who died in 1991. 


Lee joined Hotel Shilla in 1979 as a permanent executive, which marked the beginning of her career in managing the family-run businesses.

She became an adviser to the former Hansol Paper in 1983 and spun off the company from Samsung Group in 1991. It has since grown to become Hansol Group, which now runs businesses ranging from industrial paper manufacturing, home interior materials, IT solutions and logistics.

Lee had prioritized familial bonds. In 2012, when Lee Maeng-hee and Lee Kun-hee were embroiled in a legal dispute over inheritance, their eldest sister played a mediator role, saying, “It is not desirable to see such a dispute among the brothers.”

Lee Myung-hee, chairman of Shinsegae Group and a younger sister of Lee In-hee, was the first among the Lee family to visit the funeral parlor.

Hwang Gak-gyu, vice chairman of Lotte Group, visited to pay respects on behalf of Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin. CJ Group Vice Chairman Park Keun-hee, Hyundai Group Chairman Hyun Jeong-eun and Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry Chairman Park Yong-maan also visited.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)