Samsung is primarily owned and controlled by the Lee family, a prominent South Korean family. Lee Jae-yong (also known as Jay Y. Lee) is the executive chairman of Samsung and a direct descendant of the company's founder, Lee Byung-Chull. The Lee family holds control over Samsung through a complex structure of cross-ownership among Samsung's many subsidiaries, allowing them to maintain control despite publicly traded shares. Samsung operates as a chaebol, a large family-owned business conglomerate typical in South Korea, where the family retains significant influence. Samsung Electronics, one of the key subsidiaries of the Samsung Group, is majority-owned by foreign investors and institutional shareholders, but the Lee family retains influence through stakes in related subsidiaries like Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung C&T. Overall, the Lee family control extends over a large part of Samsung's operations, with Lee Jae-yong as the current leader since October 2022, after succeeding his father Lee Kun-hee, who led Samsung for over three decades.
