By Yifan Wang

Chinese online real-estate platform operator KE Holdings Inc. said founder and Chairman Zuo Hui died Thursday due to an unexpected worsening of illness.

The company said its board of directors will make appropriate arrangements for corporate governance and related matters, and disclose more details within two weeks.

KE operates the Beike platform, China's largest online marketplace for housing transactions and services. Beike recorded 2.1 trillion yuan ($326.3 billion) of online and offline transactions in 2019, while the company's traditional property brokerage, Lianjia, is a household name that has been operating since 2001.

The company's New York-listed shares have lost more than 10% in pre-market trade.

Write to Yifan Wang at yifan.wang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-20-21 0552ET