Samsung quietly prepping for change of style, rather than strategy

Seoul

SAMSUNG'S heir-apparent Jay Y Lee faces a delicate balancing act: carefully pacing preparations for change - of style more than strategy - at South Korea's biggest conglomerate, while preserving his ailing father's legacy from more than a quarter of a century in charge.

Samsung Group, a sprawling corporation of dozens of affiliates including Samsung Electronics, has not announced any formal succession planning, but last week said Mr Lee, 46, will take over as chairman of two Samsung foundations from patriarch Lee Kun Hee, 73, who remains hospitalised after a heart attack a year ago.