South Korea's top conglomerate, Samsung Group, plans to sell four of its affiliates, including chemical and defense units, to Hanwha Group, industry sources said Wednesday, a move they saw as another corporate reorganization effort after the hospitalization of de facto head Lee Kun-hee in May.
According to the sources, Samsung will offload its defense affiliate Samsung Techwin Co. and Samsung Thales Co., as well as two chemical units, Samsung General Chemicals Co. and Samsung Total Petrochemicals Co., to Hanwha, another South Korean conglomerate whose main businesses include defense and solar power.