Samsung chairman hospitalised after heart attack

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee remained hospitalised in stable condition on Monday after being treated for a heart attack, company officials said.

Lee, 72, was rushed to a hospital near his Seoul home late on Saturday after suffering breathing problems and received CPR due to symptoms of a heart attack. He was later transferred to a Samsung-affiliated hospital in Seoul, Samsung Medical Centre, where he underwent a stent placement procedure early on Sunday in which tubes were inserted into his body to widen blood vessels to prevent a heart attack, according to Keich Lee, a spokeswoman at Samsung Global Communications.

The Samsung Group said in a statement on Sunday that Lee “is in stable condition and making a recovery.”

The Samsung spokeswoman said on Monday that Lee’s spontaneous breathing returned shortly after the operation and hospital officials expect good results. She said Lee remained hospitalised on Monday.

Lee, the de facto chairman of Samsung Group, which is South Korea’s largest conglomerate, has a history of medical problems. He has been suffering from respiratory complications since undergoing lung surgery in the late 1990s, and was hospitalised last August for treatment of pneumonia. He returned to Seoul in April after spending the winter season in the US to prevent respiratory ailments.

Lee is also a high-ranking South Korean member of the International Olympic Committee.