They're paying over 5 years, so assuming equal payments, roughly $2.16 billion per year. The 2021 national budget is estimated at $469.8 billion[1], so about 0.5% of the budget.<p>I see another comment here questioning whether the South Korean government can really be trusted to be good stewards of that much money. I don't know. Samsung has certainly done a lot for the country. Maybe the kids would do just as much good as the father. Let's not pretend government has done nothing for them, though. The Samsung family today hasn't starved in a famine or been executed by a despot because of the actions of governments. My old battalion, the 3/8 CAV, was nearly completely wiped out in a single day back in 1950 in Unsan trying to ensure South Korea was able to exist at all.[2] This was the single bloodiest day in 1st CAV history.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/09/367_295260.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/09/367_295260.h...</a><p>[2]: <a href="https://1cda.org/history/history-8cav/" rel="nofollow">https://1cda.org/history/history-8cav/</a>
While this link is getting traffic there are no written details in it (you have to watch the video). For those curious here are some more informative articles:<p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/28/samsung-inheritance-lee-family-to-pay-over-10-billion-inheritance-tax.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/28/samsung-inheritance-lee-fami...</a><p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/samsungs-lee-family-pay-more-than-12-trln-won-inheritance-taxes-2021-04-28/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reuters.com/business/samsungs-lee-family-pay-mor...</a>
They had to figure out how they could finesse this so that they didn't destroy the South Korean economy.<p>So the Seoul National Art Museums will be getting some lovely new additions to their collections.
Seems excessive, how well is the Korean government in stewarding public resources and identifying areas of the economy to direct capital? Do they have a history of being the proper stewards of this money than a private person?