Discursive (de)legitimation of a contested return of former chairman Lee Kun-Hee to Samsung chaebol

This paper is a critical analysis of media discourse on an action of Korean chaebol, using the return of former chairman Lee Kun-Hee to Samsung chaebol. Chairman Lee attempts to legitimise his return as a necessity of leadership to enable Samsung overcome the global crisis of conglomerates, as an owner of a chaebol in response to its crisis. To analyse the discursive struggle related to his return, we divided discourses into two: one legitimising his return as an owner of a chaebol and the other arguing that his return is unjust because it indicates the return of autocratic management with infinite power but without responsibility. We have elucidated the crucial role of the media that makes sense of and consequently react to such discursive (de)legitimation for understanding of management of Korean chaebols.