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The Samsung owner's family has paid all inheritance taxes on the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee's estate, amounting to over 12 trillion won, but the possibility of selling Samsung Electronics shares still remains. Honorary Director Hong Ra-hee of the Leeum Museum and Lee Seo-hyun, President of Samsung C&T, borrowed a total of 23.528 trillion won from financial institutions using Samsung Electronics shares as collateral, with 7.54 trillion won maturing in July.
According to financial sources on the 28th, Honorary Director Hong borrowed 18.55 trillion won using Samsung Electronics shares as collateral, which corresponds to approximately 0.65% of the shares. President Lee also holds a loan of 4.978 trillion won secured by 0.19% of Samsung Electronics shares. Of the loans maturing in July, Hong's portion is 4.85 trillion won and Lee's is 2.69 trillion won, totaling 7.54 trillion won.
In April next year, loans exceeding 4 trillion won are also set to expire. Considering the creditworthiness and collateral value, there is a possibility for short-term refinancing, but the final repayment resources have not yet been disclosed.
Samsung Electronics announced on the 3rd that Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Honorary Director Hong, President Lee Boo-jin of Hotel Shilla, and President Lee Seo-hyun have paid all inheritance taxes on the late chairman's estate. The inheritance scale includes stocks and real estate, estimated at 26 trillion won, with inheritance taxes around 12 trillion won. The six installments of the deferred payment process that began in 2021 have also been completed.
During the inheritance tax payment process, shares of Samsung Electronics were sold repeatedly, and last month, Honorary Director Hong disposed of 15 million shares of Samsung Electronics through an off-hours block trade. The selling price per share was 205,237 won, totaling 3.0786 trillion won. The Samsung owner's family has sold shares of Samsung Electronics multiple times to pay inheritance taxes and repay collateralized loans.
The value of the Samsung Electronics shares held by Honorary Director Hong and President Lee significantly exceeds the loan amounts. Honorary Director Hong's holdings are estimated at around 20 trillion won, while President Lee's holdings are about 13 trillion won. In terms of collateral capacity, loan extensions or refinancing are possible, but even partial share sales could provide the necessary funds for loan repayment.
If Samsung Electronics' stock price maintains a level higher than last month's block deal price, the possibility of additional share sales by the owner family may be raised again. Investment banks view the potential for additional sales of Samsung Electronics shares as candidates for large block deals, and if sales are pursued, domestic and foreign securities firms are likely to compete for underwriting.
However, it is difficult to conclude that the loan maturity will immediately lead to share sales. Refinancing or maturity extensions are also possible options, and the variable is the final repayment resources. If Honorary Director Hong and President Lee sell some Samsung Electronics shares, they could repay the maturing amount in July, but this could create short-term selling pressure on Samsung Electronics stock.