Lee Woon-hyung, chairman of SeAH Group, an established mid-sized steel maker, died of a stroke Sunday during an overseas business trip. He was 66.
November 23, 2013 Leave a comment
2013-03-11 19:40
SeAH Group chairman dies
By Yi Whan-woo
Lee Woon-hyung, chairman of SeAH Group, a mid-sized steel maker, died of a stroke Sunday during an overseas business trip. He was 66.
The firm announced that Lee died in Tahiti on his way to Chile, where he was scheduled to attend a business forum.
“His body will be returned home today at the earliest and we’ll set a funeral date soon,” a company spokesman said.
His late father, Lee Chong-duk, founded the Busan Steel Pipe Industry in 1960. The junior Lee joined the company in 1974 and succeeded his father as president and CEO of the firm in 1995, a year before he changed its name to SeAH Steel.Under his leadership, the firm has grown into one of the country’s major manufacturers of carbon and stainless steel pipes.
Its average annual sales were 3 trillion won ($2.73 billion), half of which was from exports.
Lee expanded the business to other types of steel, such as plates for automobiles.
The group is comprised of SeAH Steel and SeAH Holdings. It is the nation’s 51st largest business group with an asset of 6.9 trillion won as of 2012.
Lee graduated from Seoul National University in 1969 and earned a master’s degree in business administration at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 1974. He has served as the head of the U.S school’s alumni association in Korea since the late 2000s. He also worked as the vice chairman of both the Korea International Trade Association and the Korea Iron and Steel Association from the 1990s.
Lee devoted himself to the arts, and has supported the Korea National Opera (KNO) financially.
He is survived by his wife, one son and three daughters.
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