SEOUL, KOREA, REPUBLIC OF --
Samsung's founding family will donate tens of thousands of rare artworks, including Picassos and Dalis, to help them pay a massive inheritance tax bill following last year's death of company chairman Lee Kun-Hee.
They will also give hundreds of millions of dollars to medical projects and research in an apparent attempt to improve their public image as they proceed with a multiyear plan to inherit both the wealth and corporate power of South Korea's richest-ever businessman.
The Lee family, including his widow and three children, expects to pay more than 12 trillion won ($10.8 billion) in inheritance taxes, which is more than half the wealth Lee held in stocks and real estate, Samsung said Wednesday. This would be the largest amount in South Korea and more than three times the country's total estate tax revenue for last year.