South Korea's Samsung Electronics will consider splitting itself into two as proposed by U.S. activist hedge fund Elliott Management, Seoul Economic Daily reported on Monday citing an unnamed source. A split would allow the heirs of the founding Lee family to strengthen their grip on the global smartphone leader, the crown jewel of the Samsung Group business empire. Elliott proposed a split in October to boost shareholder value. Samsung's board of directors will meet on Tuesday and respond to Elliott's proposals, the newspaper said. The Korea Exchange separately asked Samsung to comment by 6 p.m. (0900 GMT) on whether it planned a spinoff.

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