Samsung Group's market cap up nearly 350 times under Lee's leadership: data

The market capitalization of Samsung Group, South Korea's largest conglomerate, rose 348 times under the leadership of now deceased group chief Lee Kun-hee, data showed Sunday.

The conglomerate, which includes crown jewel Samsung Electronics Co. and construction company Samsung C&T Corp., sprawled under his management, with its market capitalization reaching 318.7 trillion won ($282.4 billion) in 2014 from just 900 billion won in 1987, when Lee rose to the conglomerate's top position, according to the data from financial research firm FnGuide.

The Samsung Electronics chairman died at a hospital in Seoul on Sunday at age 78, after years of being bedridden following a heart attack in 2014.

Samsung Group's total sales rose 34 times over the cited period to 338.6 trillion won from just 9.9 trillion won.

Its assets jumped to 575.1 trillion won from 8 trillion won, while its number of employees grew to 420,000 globally from about 100,000.

The group's exports also grew rapidly from just $6.3 billion in 1987 to $156.7 billion in 2012, accounting for 28.2 percent of South Korea's total outbound shipments.

The relatively unknown group outside of Asia when Lee took leadership was recognized as the eighth top global brand by brand consultancy Interbrand in 2013.

Lee inherited the Samsung crown in 1987 at the age of 45 when his father Lee Byung-chull, founder of the present day Samsung Group, died. (Yonhap)