Samsung heir Lim Dong-hyun credits three years with no smartphone for admission to Seoul National University

Lim Dong-hyun, the grandson of late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee and the son of Lee Boo-jin, shared his experience during a recent talk at a private cram school in Seoul's Daechi-dong education hub, according to reports by Maeil Business Newspaper.

Speaking to students and parents from Whimoon High School, Lim said he deliberately cut off smartphones and video games throughout middle and high school to protect his focus while preparing for the highly competitive Korean College Scholastic Ability Test, or CSAT.

"It was difficult, but I can say with confidence that it greatly improved my concentration and allowed me to fully immerse myself in studying," he said.

"When it finally ended after three long years, the sense of enjoyment was something I deeply savored," he added, Korea Times reported.

Lim said discipline and self-restraint mattered as much as raw academic ability.

For the Korean language section of the CSAT, he emphasized precise reading comprehension and repeated practice using past exam questions, cautioning students against poorly designed mock tests that could encourage flawed reasoning. For mathematics, he advised tackling large volumes of problems to build strong analytical instincts, particularly for the Education Ministry's June and September mock exams.

Lim was admitted to Seoul National University's economics department last December under the early admission track for the 2026 academic year, after maintaining top-tier grades throughout middle and high school and earning exceptionally high scores on the CSAT.

He will share an alma mater with his uncle, Samsung chairman Lee Jae-yong, who entered Seoul National University nearly four decades earlier.