Ex-Samsung chairman hints at returning to job

SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- Former Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee hinted Thursday he may return to the management of South Korea's biggest business conglomerate.

"I'm considering it," Lee said when asked by reporters whether he was interested
in returning to Samsung's management in the near future. The 68-year-old Lee made
the remark at an airport near Seoul as he returned home from the United States.
The remark was apparently in contrast with an earlier one.
On the sidelines of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on
Jan. 10, Lee told reporters, "It's still far away" in response to the same
question.
Lee, South Korea's richest man, was forced to resign as head of Samsung in
mid-2008 after being convicted of tax evasion. He was given a three-year jail
sentence, suspended for five years.
Late last year, the government pardoned Lee, enabling him to play a role in
helping South Korea's alpine city of PyeongChang bid for the right to host the
2010 Winter Olympics.
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