The 72-year-old South Korean, the chairman of Samsung, was admitted to a Seoul hospital last Saturday (May 10) after experiencing breathing difficulties and had to be resuscitated as his heart stopped.

"Chairman Lee's condition is getting better," said Yoon Soon-bong, President of Samsung Medical Center (SMC), told South Korean news agency Yonhap News.

Doctors are confident that Lee Kun-hee, seen here welcoming the South Korean team at the Opening Ceremony of London 2012, will make a full recovery ©Getty Images

Earlier this week, doctors said it may be a while before Lee - a member of the IOC since 1996 - regains consciousness because of the sedatives used following a hypothermia treatment, which prevents generation of toxic material in blood vessels by slowing the cell metabolism.

Lee recovered his normal temperature Tuesday (May 13), doctors claim. 

The SMC said such an approach was necessary given Lee's age and his medical history, which includes lung surgery in the late 1990s and respiratory complications since then.

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