Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jay-yong is expected to be appointed this April as director of a key Asian economic forum, according to industry sources on Tuesday.

Lee is to be named as director of the Boao Forum for Asia at their 12th assembly meeting which is scheduled to be held in Boao, Hainan province, China, in early April, sources said.

Chey Tae-won, the embattled chairman of SK Group, currently serves as director but his four-year term expires this year.

The Boao Forum for Asia is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization formed in February 2001 by the leaders of 26 Asian nations.

The group, modeled after the World Economic Forum, gathers leaders from government, business and academia to discuss their ideas on Asian and global issues. Korea was one of the founding members, along with China, Japan, Australia, India, Singapore and others.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)