Lee Kun-hee Collection Draws UK Political Leaders and Global CEOs; Lee Jae-yong Says, "Art and Culture Should Be Shared"

[Financial News] The Lee Kun-hee (KH) Collection has brought together British political and government figures and global CEOs. It is being hailed as an expansion of the Samsung family's philosophy of preserving and sharing Korea's cultural heritage into a forum for cultural exchange reaching around the world.
Lee Jae-yong introduced the value of Korean art while meeting global key semiconductor partners in one place, broadening the foundation for international cooperation.
Samsung said on October 1 that it had held a gala dinner at The British Museum in London on September 30 (local time) to celebrate the opening of the special exhibition "Korea: 2,000 Years of Creativity."
Jointly organized by the National Museum of Korea, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), and The British Museum, the exhibition is the first large-scale special exhibition of Korean art to be held at The British Museum in 42 years, since 1984. It is also the third overseas stop of the Lee Kun-hee (KH) Collection's traveling exhibition, following Washington, D.C., last year and Chicago this year.
The event was attended by Lee Jae-yong, Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of Leeum Museum of Art, Lee Boo-jin, president of Hotel Shilla, and Lee Seo-hyun, president of Samsung C&T. The Princess Royal attended the reception held before the gala dinner and congratulated the organizers on the exhibition's opening.
More than 240 prominent figures from British politics, government, business and culture attended the gala dinner. They included Finance Minister John Healey, AI Minister Kanishka Narayan, former Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and former Trade Minister Greg Hands. Executives from global companies including BT Group, Vodafone and Standard Chartered also attended, along with officials from Oxford University and Imperial College London.
The attendance of executives from key global companies and institutions that cooperate with Samsung Electronics in the semiconductor sector was particularly notable.
Christophe Fouquet, CEO of ASML; Kai Beckmann, CEO of Merck; Andreas Pecher, CEO of Carl Zeiss; and Patrick Vandenameele, CEO of the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (imec), attended the event.
ASML cooperates with Samsung Electronics in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment, which is essential for advanced semiconductor production. Merck and Carl Zeiss are key partners in semiconductor materials and optics, respectively. The semiconductor research institute imec continues to work with Samsung Electronics to develop next-generation semiconductor technologies.
With major partners gathering around Korean cultural heritage, the event became a form of private diplomacy that broadened the intersection between cultural exchange and future business.
Lee Jae-yong also reflected on the more than 140-year relationship between Korea and the United Kingdom. He expressed his respect and gratitude to three Korean War veterans who attended the event, including Mike Row. He also thanked the Princess Royal, who visited the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan in July and paid tribute to the sacrifices of Korean War veterans.
In his remarks, Lee introduced the philosophy of preserving and sharing cultural heritage passed down from founding chairman Lee Byung-chul and former chairman Lee Kun-hee. He said, "Our family has upheld the principle across several generations that art and culture should be preserved and shared with everyone. We hope this exhibition will serve as an opportunity to understand Korea's creativity and cultural heritage spanning 2,000 years."
George Osborne, chair of The British Museum's board, said, "The dedication of former chairman Lee Kun-hee and his family to contributing to humanity's shared cultural heritage is a great help in understanding the past and will, looking ahead, serve as a compass for the future."

[email protected] Kim Hak-jae and Lim Soo-bin Reporter