Inheritance: Samsung, Samsung, 1. My kingdom for a horse

Inheritance: Samsung

Samsung

1. My kingdom for a horse

23 March 2026

25 minutes

Available for over a year

In 2017, the heir to South Korea’s biggest company is facing jail, leaving it with an uncertain future. After 80 years of business, how did Samsung get here? And how did a deal meant to secure family control of the company go so wrong?

In this brand-new 10-part series from the BBC World Service, we take you behind closed doors - inside the billion-dollar deals and the family power struggles that shape global empires. When your relatives are also your business partners, every decision is personal. In these dynasties, the boardroom is not just about profit - it is about survival.

Presenter: Elise Hu

Producers: Simon Tulett and Sally Abrahams

Fact-checkers: Matt Toulson and Su-Min Hwang

Music: Thomas Ross Fitzsimons

Sound engineer: Charlie Brandon-King.

Series editor: Matt Willis

With special thanks to Geoffrey Cain, Sojin Lim, Jaeyeon Lee, Jake Kwon and, also, Mary Wilkinson.

Senior commissioning producer: Sarah Green

Commissioning editor: Jon Manel

Inheritance is a BBC Long Form Audio production