Lee Byung-chul
Ho-Am Byung-chull Lee (12 February 1910 – 19 November 1987) was a South Korean businessman. He was the founder of the Samsung Group, which is South Korea's largest business group, and one of South Korea's most successful businessmen. He was a pioneer of modern entrepreneurship and was a beacon of national economic development for South Korea. Personal life. Early life. Byung-chul was the youngest son of four siblings to father Lee Chan-woo and mother Kwon Jae-lim. Byung-chul was the son of a wealthy land-owning yangban family (a branch of  the Gyeongju Lee clan). He attended highschool at Joongdong High School in Seoul, and then college at Waseda University in Tokyo but did not complete his degree. Korean art collection. After his death, Byung-chul's estate (Ho-Am) was opened to the public for tours. His collection of Korean art is considered one of the largest private collections in the country and it features a number of art objects that have been designated "National Treasures" by the Korean government. Ho-Am is located a short distance from the Everland park, South Korea's most popular amusement park (Everland is  also owned by the Samsung Group). Family. The family of Lee Byung-chul Career. Beginning. Byung-chul established a trucking business in Daegu on 1 March 1938, which he named Samsung Trading Co, the forerunner to Samsung. Samsung means "Three Stars" which explains the initial corporate logos. By 1945 Samsung was transporting goods throughout Korea and to other countries. The company was based in Seoul by 1947. It was one of the ten largest "trading companies" when the Korean War started in 1950. With the conquest of Seoul by the North Korean army, Lee was forced to relocate his business  to Busan. The massive influx of U.S. troops and equipment into Busan over the next year and a half of the war proved to be highly beneficial to Lee's trading company. In 1961, when Park Chung-hee seized power in the May 16 coup, Lee was in Japan and for some time he did not return to South Korea. Eventually, a deal was struck and Lee returned but Samsung had to give up control over the banks it acquired and follow economic directives from Park's government. Federation of Korean Industries. The first step of the Federation of Korean  Industries was established in August 1961. The association was founded by Samsung Group chairman Lee Byung-chul. He was a noble leader to every employee that walked through the office. Later in life, Byung-chul served as chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries and was known as the richest man in Korea. Other ventures. In 1965, he established the Samsung Culture Foundation to promote a broad range of programs to enrich Korean cultural life. In 1969, Samsung Electronics Manufacturing (renamed Samsung Electronics) and later merged with Samsung-Sanyo Electric. Samsung Electronics Manufacturing had 45 employees and about $250,000  sales in 1970 and it made household electronics exclusively. In 1982, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Boston College