The mother and two sisters of Samsung Electronics chairman Jay Y. Lee are preparing to sell shares worth $1.22 bn in the South Korean tech giant, Reuters reports.
The planned sale of 17.7 mln shares, representing about 0.3% of Samsung Electronics, is intended to cover inheritance taxes and loan repayments, the filing submitted late Friday to the Korea Exchange stated.
Analysts say the move by Lee’s mother Hong Ra-hee and his sisters Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun forms part of the family’s ongoing efforts to settle an inheritance tax bill of around $8.4 bn following the 2020 death of Samsung patriarch Lee Kun-hee. The transaction will be managed by Shinhan Bank under a trust agreement and is expected to be completed by April next year.
Samsung shares have risen over 48% since the company announced a chip-supply agreement with Tesla in July. The firm has also secured major deals with OpenAI and is widely expected to provide its next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips to Nvidia. The stock has soared more than 84% in 2025, closing 0.2% higher at 97,900 won on Friday.
Park Ju-gun, head of corporate analysis firm Leaders Index, noted that Samsung’s $7 bn share buyback plan last year helped support its stock value, indirectly assisting the Lee family in securing funds for inheritance tax. He added that with shares now nearing $70.34, the latest sale is likely aimed at completing those payments.
However, Park warned that the move could dampen investor sentiment.
«It’s disappointing to see the owner family selling shares when the stock is performing so well,» he said. «Samsung Electronics is practically a national stock, held by around five million retail investors who have been closely watching it approach the 100,000-won mark.»
Kursiv also reports that the only son of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong begun his mandatory military service in September as a naval officer candidate.
