CJ says Lee suffers from rare neurological disease

CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun ― who is currently being detained by the prosecution over allegations of evading taxes and creating slush funds ― has been suffering from renal disease and a rare genetic condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, the company said Monday.

CJ’s announcement came just one week after the prosecution took custody of Lee, who is the eldest grandson of Samsung Group’s founder Lee Byung-chull and the nephew of Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee.

The timing raised suspicions among the public, however, as to whether the chairman might be seeking to get an early release due to ailing health.

Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-yeon is in the middle of an appellate trial without physical detention due to his sickness and Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo was released on sick bail when he was under investigation for a slush fund scandal in 2006.

“There are lots of assumptions, but we wanted to avoid any misunderstandings by disclosing it early,” a CJ official explained.

Officially termed a hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, CMT is a rare disease, characterized by symptoms of progressive loss of muscle tissue and touch sensation in the legs and arms.

According to CJ Group, Lee received an exemption from military duty in Korea due to his CMT diagnosis. And the condition has since worsened gradually to the point where Lee wears specially-made shoes.

When summoned by the prosecution on July 1, Lee showed signs of a limp, which immediately caught public attention.

The symptoms of CMT are known to start showing early during childhood or adolescence, and are caused by mutations leading to defects in neuronal proteins.

In many cases, symptoms may not be apparent until the patient reaches the age of 30.

According to a former Samsung Group official, there is a fear of inheriting the disease among the male family members of Samsung Group.

CJ Group also made it public that Lee is undergoing a chronic stage of uremia ― a condition caused by renal failure leading to symptoms such as lethargy, nausea and loss of mental acuity.

In fact, Lee had an operation scheduled recently at Seoul National University Hospital as his kidney functions have dropped 10 percent below the normal level, according to the hospital.

Lee’s uremia, according to CJ Group, may require a kidney transplant or dialysis.

By Kwon Bum-joon (bjkwon@heraldcorp.com)