Samsung chief to get 470 bln won in 2019 dividends

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- The chief of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group stands to receive 470 billion won (US$392 million) in 2019 dividends, with the bulk coming from group flagship Samsung Electronics Co., a corporate tracker said Monday.

Lee Kun-hee, Samsung Electronics' ailing chairman, will receive dividends of 353.8 billion won from the world's top memory chip and smartphone manufacturer, according to the Korea CXO Institute.

Last year, Samsung Electronics decided to pay cash dividends of 1,416 won per common share and 1,417 won per preferred share.

Lee, who has been hospitalized since 2014 after suffering a heart attack, holds a 4.18 percent stake in Samsung Electronics -- about 249 million common shares and 619,900 preferred shares.

The 78-year-old Lee is also to receive 110 billion won in 2019 dividends from Samsung Life Insurance Co. and 10.8 billion won from Samsung C&T Corp., the group's de facto holding firm.

Lee's only son and heir apparent, Jae-yong, will receive 59.5 billion won from Samsung Electronics, with the bedridden mogul's wife, Hong Ra-hee, standing to get 76.6 billion won.

The elder Lee has received about 1.47 trillion won in dividends from Samsung Electronics over the past decade, with his family's total dividend income from the tech behemoth reaching 2.02 trillion won.

The market tracker also said the National Pension Service, the operator of South Korea's pension fund, is the top receiver of 2019 dividends from Samsung Electronics with 886.5 billion won.

Among foreign investors, U.S.-based BlackRock Fund Advisors stands to receive the largest 2019 dividends from Samsung Electronics at 425.3 billion won.

Offshore investors, who owned 57 percent of Samsung Electronics as of end-2019, will receive 5.48 trillion won out of Samsung's 9.62 trillion won in total 2019 dividends.
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