By Kim Tae-gyu
A veteran runner named Paul Pilkington was paid to set the pace for the 1994 Los Angeles Marathon. He was supposed to drop out halfway after helping to improve the records for the favored elites.
However, no athletes could follow Pilkington for some reason and he just kept going. The designated pacemaker eventually won the 42.195-kilometers race, thus beating a group of expected favorites.
Samsung Group’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong, the only son of the Seoul-based conglomerate’s tycoon Lee Kun-hee, might start to sweat to learn the story as the junior Lee has his own pacesetters in his two sisters.
The two daughters in the Samsung family were both promoted to become president and executive vice president of the group’s main affiliates earlier this month. In particular, the eldest daughter Lee Boo-jin moved up two ranks with this single promotion.
The consensus is that Lee Jae-yong will assume most of the major Samsung units in the not-so-distant future such as Samsung Electronics, the country’s No.1 company, and Samsung Life Insurance, the leading financial firm here.
He was promoted to become president of Samsung Electronics this month, the world’s top producer of memory chips and flat-panel displays, to cement the belief that he will win the battle royal.
Recently Lee Boo-jin has been regarded as a pacemaker that will place competitive pressure on her brother.
Yet, Lee Jae-yong seemingly does not have the luxury to be complacent because the 42-year-old has yet to demonstrate his capacity in management while his 40-year-old sister has already shown off her managerial ability at the helm of Hotel Shilla and Samsung Everland.
The chances are that Lee Boo-jin will take charge of Samsung Group’s hotel, trade, catering and amusement park businesses. But who knows? If her siblings struggle in their own designated businesses, she might take on more responsibility.
This prompts some observers to make predictions that Lee Boo-jin might oust her elder brother in the case he fails to prove himself to their father.
One thing that Lee Jae-yong has to remember is that the love for the eldest daughter seems to be incorporated in the DNA of Samsung owners.
Lee Kun-hee’s affections to Lee Boo-jin are well known. And the former’s father Lee Byung-chull, the founder of Samsung empire, also treated his eldest daughter Lee In-hee, the advisor of Hansol Group, like the apple of his eye.
The Samsung founder agonized over selecting his heir from three sons and five daughters. Even though the third-son Lee Kun-hee won the race, it appeared that he had considered Lee In-hee as a contender.
``If Lee in-hee were a son, I would have no headache at all.’’ This is a remark Lee Byung-chull was known to have said to his close friends.
Lee Jae-yong may feel discontent with the Samsung DNA of preferring the eldest daughter.