Samsung family donating mass art trove to smooth inheritance

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung’s founding family will donate tens of thousands of rare artworks, including Picassos and Dalis, and give hundreds of millions of dollars to medical research to help them pay a massive inheritance tax following last year’s death of chairman Lee Kun-Hee. The Lee family, including his wife and three children, expects to pay more than 12 trillion won ($10.8 billion) in taxes related to inheritance, Samsung said Wednesday. This would be the largest-ever amount in South Korea and more than three times the country’s total estate tax revenue for last year. The family plans to divide the payment in six installments over five years, while making the first payment this month. Raising cash for the tax payment is crucial for the Lee family to extend its control over Samsung’s business empire, which extends from semiconductors, smartphones and TVs to construction, shipbuilding and insurance. Some analysts say the process could result in a shakeup across the group.