The de facto leader of South Korea’s biggest conglomerate visited the construction site for the Riyadh Metro project, in which its construction arm is a participant.
The project, slated for completion by 2020, will involve the construction of six subway lines stretching 168 kilometers beneath the Saudi Arabian capital.
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| Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong walks through a construction site of a subway line by Samsung C&T in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday. (Samsung Electronics) |
The vice chairman met Samsung C&T engineers working on the project and encouraged them to keep up the good work.
“With the Middle East seeking profits from things other than oil, it is becoming a new land of opportunities in the 21st century,” Lee said. “Your sweat, when met with these new opportunities, will bear fruit.”
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| Lee shakes hands with a Samsung C&T employee in Riyadh on Sunday. (Samsung Electronics) |
Lee paid attention to the project in June when he met with Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was in Seoul to meet with President Moon Jae-in.
It was reported that Lee and the Saudi prince held a closed-door meeting after a state luncheon hosted by Cheong Wa Dae.
The Samsung heir’s visit to the Middle Eastern country marks his first publicized overseas trip since the Supreme Court ordered a retrial last month in the bribery case involving Lee and former President Park Geun-hye.
Despite the retrial, which could result in a harsher sentence for Lee, he is expected to continue making visits to Samsung’s work sites -- albeit with caution -- as part of his on-site management initiative that would help solidify his leadership across affiliates, according to a company insider.
By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)
