Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee has been hospitalized for pneumonia, a group official said Wednesday.
Lee, 71, was admitted to the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul a week ago, and is expected to be released from the hospital this weekend, the official said.
The tycoon has a history of lung cancer, for which he underwent surgery in the United States about a decade ago.
There have been rumors that Lee's health has been declining, although the business group has strongly denied the claim.
Lee was originally scheduled to hold a dinner with the group's executives last Friday, but the meeting was postponed by a week for unspecified reasons.
The dinner meeting is likely to be pushed back again, the official said.
Samsung Group is the nation's largest business conglomerate, with Samsung Electronics, one of the world's leading electronics firms, under its wing. (Yonhap News)
