Former Samsung chairman Lee skips memorial service for his late father

SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Yonhap) -- Former Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee didn't
attend a memorial service on Wednesday for his late father and the group's
founder because he caught a cold, a group official said.

The 66-year-old Lee "decided not to participate into the memorial service due to
a cold and illness from fatigue," the Samsung official said.
Wednesday marked the 21st anniversary of the death of Samsung founder Lee
Byung-chull, who founded the group in 1938 as a small trading company.
In April this year, Lee, who inherited the group two decades ago as the third son
of the founder, stepped down from the post after special prosecutors indicted him
for evading taxes, breach of trust and violating the stock exchange law, ending a
three-month probe into his family's corruption scandal.
Lee was later given a three-year suspended jail term, meaning he won't spend any
time inside prison. The breach of duty charge was dropped.
The recent corruption scandal damaged Samsung's reputation as South Korea's most
successful business conglomerate, which accounts for some 20 percent of the
nation's exports last year.