Samsung Chief Marks a Month in Hospital

It has been a month on Tuesday since Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee was taken to hospital after a heart attack on May 10.

On May 25 Lee woke out of an induced coma and began responding to stimuli, and hospital staff said they were hopeful he would recover cognitive functions, but there have been no further official briefings.

Samsung Group and medical staff on Monday told the Chosun Ilbo Lee's condition is still improving.

A Samsung spokesman said Lee is moving his hands and legs a little and keeps his eyes open frequently. He also appears to be slowly regaining consciousness.

After experiencing breathing difficulty at his home around 10 p.m. on May 10, Lee was rushed to the nearby Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Seoul, where he received CPR. He was transferred to the Samsung Medical Center in the early morning of the following day. He had emergency heart surgery, putting an expanded stent in a narrowed coronary artery.