With heir apparent Lee Jay-yong filling the management vacuum left by his ailing father, Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, South Korea's largest conglomerate is trying to find new growth engines, acquiring foreign ventures at an increasing rate and jumping into new business areas. Since last May when its chairman was hospitalized due to a heart attack, Samsung has conducted eight mergers and acquisitions, almost equal to the combined number of M&As done by the conglomerate in 2012 and 2013.