Samsung

This article is about the conglomerate. For the electronics subsidiary, seeSamsung Electronics.For other uses, seeSamsung (disambiguation).

Not to be confused withSamsun,Samson,Sanson,orSampson.

Samsung Group

Samsung Townin theGangnam stationarea ofSeoul
Native name	삼성그룹
Company type	Private
Industry	Conglomerate
Founded	1 March 1938(1938-03-01)inDaegu,Japanese Korea
Founder	Lee Byung-chul
Headquarters	Samsung Digital City,, Yeongtong-gu,Suwon , South Korea
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Lee Jae-yong(chairman)
Products	Clothing,automotive,chemicals,consumer electronics,electronic components, medical equipment,semiconductors,solid-state drives,DRAM,flash memory,ships,telecommunications equipment,home appliances
Services	Advertising,construction,entertainment,financial services,hospitality, information and communications technology, medical and health care services,retail,shipbuilding,semiconductor foundry
Subsidiaries	Cheil Worldwide Samsung Asset Management Samsung Biologics Samsung C&T Corporation Samsung Electro-Mechanics Samsung Electronics Samsung Engineering Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Samsung Heavy Industries Samsung Life Insurance Samsung SDI Samsung SDS Samsung Securities
Website	samsung

Samsung
Hangul	삼성
Hanja	Tam tinh
Revised Romanization	Samseong
McCune–Reischauer	Samsŏng

Samsung Group(Korean:삼성;Hanja:Tam tinh;RR:samseong[samsʌŋ];stylised asSΛMSUNG) is a South Koreanmultinationalmanufacturingconglomerateheadquartered in Samsung Digital City,Suwon,South Korea.It comprises numerous affiliated businesses,most of them united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South Koreanchaebol(business conglomerate). As of 2020,Samsung has the world'seighth-highest brand value.

Samsung was founded byLee Byung-chulin 1938 as atrading company.Over the next three decades, the group diversified into areas including food processing, textiles, insurance, securities, and retail. Samsung entered theelectronics industryin the late 1960s and the construction and shipbuilding industries in the mid-1970s; these areas would drive its subsequent growth. Following Lee's death in 1987, Samsung was separated into five business groups – Samsung Group,ShinsegaeGroup,CJ GroupandHansolGroup, andJoongAngGroup.

Notable Samsung industrial affiliates includeSamsung Electronics(the world'slargest information technology company,consumer electronics makerandchipmakermeasured by 2017 revenues),Samsung Heavy Industries(the world's second largestshipbuildermeasured by 2010 revenues),andSamsung EngineeringandSamsung C&T Corporation(respectively the world's 13th and 36th largest construction companies).Other notable subsidiaries includeSamsung Life Insurance(the world's 14th largest life insurance company),Samsung Everland (operator ofEverland Resort,the oldesttheme parkin South Korea)andCheil Worldwide(the world's 15th largest advertising agency, as measured by 2012 revenues).

Meaning of the name

According to Samsung's founder, the meaning of theKoreanhanjaSamsung(TamTinh) isthree stars.Thethreestands for somethingbig, numerous and powerful,whilestarsstands foreverlastingoreternal.

History

1938–1970

Lee Byung-chul,founder of Samsung

In 1938, duringJapanese-ruled Korea,Lee Byung-chul(1910–1987) of a large landowning family in theUiryeongcounty moved to nearbyDaegucity and founded Mitsuboshi Trading Company ( kabushiki gaisha tam tinh thương hội(Kabushiki gaisha Mitsuboshi Shōkai)), orSamsung Sanghoe(주식회사 삼성상회). Samsung started out as a small trading company with forty employees located in Su-dong (now Ingyo-dong).It dealt in dried-fish,locally-grown groceries and noodles.The company prospered and Lee moved its head office to Seoul in 1947. When theKorean Warbroke out, he was forced to leave Seoul. He started asugar refineryinBusannamedCheil Jedang.In 1954, Lee foundedCheil Mojik,a textiles company, and built the first plant in Chimsan-dong,Daegu.It was the largest woollen mill in the country at the time of construction.

Samsung diversified into many different areas. Lee sought to establish Samsung as a leader in a wide range of industries. Samsung moved into lines of business such as insurance, securities, and retail.

In 1947, Cho Hong-jai, the Hyosung group's founder, jointly invested in a new company called Samsung Mulsan Gongsa, or the Samsung Trading Corporation, with the Samsung's founder Lee Byung-chul. The trading firm grew to become the present-daySamsung C&T Corporation.After a few years, Cho and Lee separated due to differences in management style. Cho wanted a 30 equity share. Samsung Group was separated into Samsung Group andHyosungGroup,Hankook Tireand other businesses.

In the late 1960s, Samsung Group entered the electronics industry. It formed several electronics-related divisions, such as Samsung Electronics Devices, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Corning and Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications, and opened the facility inSuwon.Its first product was a black-and-white television set.Byung-chul was also the owner of theTongyang Broadcasting Company,a private radio and television company that existed from 1964 to 1980, shut down after the Korean government reviewed the number of media outlets allowed.TBC allowed an early success thanks to its connections to Samsung, boosting the sale of its television sets.

1970–1990

TheSPC-1000,introduced in 1982, was Samsung's first personal computer (sold in the Korean market only) and used an audiocassette tapeto load and save data – thefloppy drivewas optional.

In 1980, Samsung acquired theGumi-basedHanguk Jeonja Tongsinand entered telecommunications hardware. Its early products were switchboards. The facility was developed into the telephone and fax manufacturing systems and became the center of Samsung's mobile phone manufacturing. They have produced over 800 million mobile phones to date.The company grouped them together under Samsung Electronics in the 1980s.

After Lee, the founder's death in 1987, Samsung Group was separated into five business groups – Samsung Group,ShinsegaeGroup,CJ Group,HansolGroup and theJoongAng Group.Shinsegae (discount store, department store) was originally part of Samsung Group, separated in the 1990s from the Samsung Group along with CJ Group (Food/Chemicals/Entertainment/logistics), Hansol Group (Paper/Telecom), and the JoongAng Group (Media). Today these separated groups are independent and they are not part of or connected to the Samsung Group.One Hansol Group representative said, "Only people ignorant of the laws governing the business world could believe something so absurd", adding, "When Hansol separated from the Samsung Group in 1991, it severed all payment guarantees and share-holding ties with Samsung affiliates." One Hansol Group source asserted, "Hansol, Shinsegae, and CJ have been under independent management since their respective separations from the Samsung Group". One Shinsegae department store executive director said, "Shinsegae has no payment guarantees associated with the Samsung Group".

In the 1980s, Samsung Electronics began to invest heavily in research and development, investments that were pivotal in pushing the company to the forefront of the global electronics industry. In 1982, it built a television assembly plant in Portugal; in 1984, a plant in New York; in 1985, a plant in Tokyo; in 1987, a facility in England; and another facility inAustin, Texas,in 1996. As of 2012,Samsung has invested more thanUS$13 billion in the Austin facility, which operates under the name Samsung Austin Semiconductor. This makes the Austin location the largest foreign investment inTexasand one of the largest singleforeign investmentsin the United States.

In 1987, United States International Trade Commission found that the Samsung Group of South Korea unlawfully sold computer chips in the United States without licenses from the chip inventor,Texas Instruments Inc.

1990–2000

Since 1990, Samsung has increasingly globalised its activities and electronics; in particular, its mobile phones and semiconductors have become its most important source of income. It was in this period that Samsung started to rise as an international corporation in the 1990s.Samsung's construction branchwas awarded contracts to build one of the twoPetronas Towersin Malaysia,Taipei 101in Taiwan and theBurj Khalifain United Arab Emirates.In 1993,Lee Kun-heesold off ten of Samsung Group's subsidiaries, downsized the company, and merged other operations to concentrate on three industries: electronics, engineering and chemicals. In 1996, the Samsung Group reacquired theSungkyunkwan Universityfoundation.

Samsung became the world's largest producer of memory chips in 1992 and is the world's second-largest chipmaker afterIntel(see Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Market Share Ranking Year by Year).In 1995, it created its firstliquid-crystal displayscreen. Ten years later, Samsung grew to be the world's largest manufacturer of liquid-crystal display panels.Sony,which had not invested in large-sizeTFT-LCDs,contacted Samsung to cooperate, and, in 2006,S-LCDwas established as a joint venture between Samsung and Sony in order to provide a stable supply of LCD panels for both manufacturers. S-LCD was owned by Samsung (50% plus one share) andSony(50% minus one share) and operates its factories and facilities in Tanjung,South Korea.As of 26 December 2011,it was announced that Samsung had acquired the stake ofSonyin this joint venture.

Compared to other major Korean companies, Samsung survived the1997 Asian financial crisisrelatively unharmed. However,Samsung Motorwas sold toRenaultat a significant loss. As of 2010,Renault Samsung is 80.1 per cent owned byRenaultand 19.9 per cent owned by Samsung. Additionally, Samsung manufactured a range ofaircraftfrom the 1980s to the 1990s. The company was founded in 1999 asKorea Aerospace Industries(KAI), the result of a merger between then three domestic majoraerospacedivisions ofSamsung Aerospace,Daewoo Heavy Industries and Hyundai Space and Aircraft Company. However, Samsung still manufacturesaircraft enginesandgas turbines.

2000–present

The prominent Samsung sign inTimes Square,New York City

In 2000, Samsung R&D opened a development center inWarsaw,Poland.Its work began with set-top-box technology before moving into digital TV andsmartphones.The smartphone platform was developed with partners, officially launched with the originalSamsung Solsticeline of devices and other derivatives in 2008, which was later developed intoSamsung Galaxyline of devices including Notes, Edge and other products.

The Samsung Group's chairman,Lee Kun-hee(left), with South Korean PresidentPark Geun-hye,2013

In 2007, former Samsung chief lawyer Kim Yong Chul claimed that he was involved inbribingandfabricating evidenceon behalf of the group's chairman,Lee Kun-hee,and the company. Kim said that Samsung lawyers trained executives to serve asscapegoatsin a "fabricated scenario" to protect Lee, even though those executives were not involved. Kim also told the media that he was "sidelined" by Samsung after he refused to pay a $3.3 million bribe to the U.S. Federal District Court judge presiding over a case where two of their executives were found guilty on charges related to memory chip price-fi xing. Kim revealed that the company had raised a large number of secret funds through bank accounts illegally opened under the names of up to 1,000 Samsung executives – under his own name, four accounts were opened to manage 5 billionwon.

In 2010, Samsungannounced a ten-year growth strategy centered around five businesses.One of these businesses was to be focused onbiopharmaceuticals,to which has committed₩2.1 trillion.

In first quarter of 2012, Samsung Electronics became theworld's largest mobile phone makerby unit sales, overtakingNokia,which had been the market leader since 1998.

On 24 August 2012, nine American jurorsruledthat Samsung Electronics had to payApple$1.05 billion in damages for violating six of its patents on smartphone technology. The award was still less than the $2.5 billion requested by Apple. The decision also ruled that Apple did not violate five Samsung patents cited in the case.Samsung decried the decision saying that the move could harm innovation in the sector.It also followed a South Korean ruling stating that both companies were guilty of infringing on each other's intellectual property.In first trading after the ruling, Samsung shares on theKOSPIfell 7.7%, the largest fall since 24 October 2008, to 1,177,000South Korean won.Apple then sought to ban the sales of eight Samsung phones (Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S2AT&T,Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge and Galaxy Prevail) in the United States, but this was denied by the court.

As of 2013,theFair Trade Commission of Taiwanis investigating Samsung and its local Taiwanese advertising agency forfalse advertising.The case was commenced after the commission received complaints stating that the agency hired students to attack competitors of Samsung Electronics in online forums.Samsung Taiwan made an announcement on itsFacebookpage in which it stated that it had not interfered with any evaluation report and had stopped online marketing campaigns that constituted posting or responding to content in online forums.

In 2015, Samsung has been granted more U.S. patents than any other company. The company received 7,679 utility patents through 11 December.

TheGalaxy Note 7smartphone went on sale on 19 August 2016.However, in early September 2016, Samsung suspended sales of the phone and announced an informal recall. This occurred after some units of the phones had batteries with a defect that caused them to produce excessive heat, leading to fires and explosions. Samsung replaced the recalled units of the phones with a new version; however, it was later discovered that the new version of the Galaxy Note 7 also had the battery defect. Samsung recalled all Galaxy Note 7 smartphones worldwide on 10 October 2016, and permanently ended production of the phone the following day.

In 2018, they inaugrated the world's largest mobile manufacturing facility inNoida,India, in the presence ofIndian Prime MinisterNarendra ModiandSouth Korean PresidentMoon Jae-in.

In 2023, Samsung announced its decision to reduce the production of memory chips. This action is on account of the company's projected 96% decline in quarterly operating profit - a 600 million won decline from the 14 trillion won in 2022. The said drop can be attributed to the weak demand after COVID and a slowing global economy. Despite this decision, the company's shares increased by more than 4%.

Influence in South Korea

Samsung has a powerful influence on South Korea's economic development, politics, media and culture and has been a major driving force behind the "Miracle on the Han River".Its affiliate companies produce around a fifth of South Korea's total exports.Samsung's revenue was equal to 22.4% of South Korea's $1.67 trillion GDP in 2022.

"You can even say the Samsung chairman is more powerful than thePresident of South Korea.[South] Korean people have come to think of Samsung as invincible and above the law ", said Woo Suk-hoon, host of a popular economics podcast in aWashington Postarticle headlined "In South Korea, the Republic of Samsung", published on 9 December 2012. Critics claimed that Samsung knocked out smaller businesses, limiting choices for South Korean consumers and sometimes colluded with fellow giants tofix priceswhile bullying those who investigate.Lee Jung-hee,a South Korean presidential candidate, said in a debate, "Samsung has the government in its hands. Samsung manages the legal world, the press, the academics andbureaucracy".

Operations

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance HQ

Samsung comprises around 80 companies.Its activities includeconstruction,consumer electronics,financial services,shipbuilding,andmedical services,and two research and development stations that have allowed thechaebolto enter the industries of "high-polymerchemicals,genetic engineeringtools [andbiotechas a whole],aerospace,andnanotechnology."

As of April 2011,the Samsung Group comprised 59 unlisted companies and 19 listed companies, all of which had their primary listing on theKorea Exchange.

In FY 2009, Samsung reported consolidated revenues of 220 trillionKRW($172.5 billion). In FY 2010, Samsung reported consolidated revenues of 280 trillion KRW ($258 billion), and profits of 30 trillion KRW ($27.6 billion) based upon a KRW-USD exchange rate of 1,084.5 KRW per USD, the spot rate as of 19 August 2011.These amounts do not include the revenues from Samsung's subsidiaries based outside South Korea.

Leadership

1. Lee Byung-chul(1938–1966, 1968–1987)
2. Lee Maeng-hee (1966–1968), Lee Byung-chul's first son
3. Lee Kun-hee(1987–2008, 2010–2020), Lee Byung-chul's third son
4. Lee Soo-bin(2008–2010)

Affiliates

Samsung'sSilicon Valleyheadquarters inSan Jose, California

Samsung Electronicsis a multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered inSuwonand the flagship company of the Samsung Group.Its products includeair conditioners,computers,digitaltelevision sets,active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes(AMOLEDs),mobile phones,display monitors,computer printers,refrigerators,semiconductorsandtelecommunications networkingequipment.It was theworld's largest mobile phone makerby unit sales in the first quarter of 2012, with a global market share of 25.4%.It was also the world's second-largest semiconductor maker by 2011 revenues (afterIntel).

Stecois a joint venture established betweenSamsung Electronicsand Japan'sToray Industriesin 1995.Toshiba Samsung Storage TechnologyCorporation (TSST) is a joint venture between Samsung Electronics andToshibaof Japan which specialises in optical disc drive manufacturing. TSST was formed in 2004, and Toshiba owns 51 per cent of its stock, while Samsung owns the remaining 49 per cent.Samsung Electronicsis listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 005930).

Samsung Biologicsis a biopharmaceutical division of Samsung, founded in 2011. It hascontract development and manufacturing(CDMO) services including drug substance and product manufacturing and bioanalytical testing services. The company is headquartered in Incheon, South Korea and its existing three plants comprises the largest biologic contract manufacturing complex. It expanded its contract development service lab to San Francisco, U.S. Samsung Biologics is listed on the Korean Exchange stock market (number 207940).Samsung Bioepis is a biosimilar medicine producer and joint venture between Samsung Biologics (50 per cent plus one share) and the U.S.-basedBiogenIdec (50 per cent).In 2014, Biogen Idec agreed to commercialize future anti-TNF biosimilar products in Europe through Samsung Bioepis.

Samsung Engineeringis a multinational construction company headquartered in Seoul, founded in January 1969. Its principal activity is the construction of oil refining plants; upstream oil and gas facilities; petrochemical plants and gas plants; steel making plants;power plants;water treatment facilities;and other infrastructure.It achieved total revenues of 9,298.2 billion won (US$8.06 billion) in 2011.Samsung Engineering is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 02803450).

Samsung Fire & Marine Insuranceis a multinationalgeneral insurancecompany headquartered in Seoul.It was founded in January 1952 as Korea Anbo Fire and Marine Insurance and was renamed Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in December 1993.Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance offers services including accident insurance, automobile insurance, casualty insurance, fire insurance,liability insurance,marine insurance,personal pensions and loans.As of March 2011it had operations in 10 countries and 6.5 million customers. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance had a total premium income of $11.7 billion in 2011 and total assets of $28.81 billion on 31 March 2011. It is the largest provider of general insurance in South Korea. Samsung Fire has been listed on the Korea Exchange stock market since 1975 (number 000810).

Samsung Heavy Industriesis ashipbuildingand engineering company headquartered in Seoul, founded in August 1974. Its principal products are bulk carriers, container vessels, crude oil tankers, cruisers, passenger ferries, material handling equipment steel and bridge structures.It achieved total revenues of 13,358.6 billion won in 2011 and is the world's second-largest shipbuilder by revenues (afterHyundai Heavy Industries).It is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 010140).

Samsung Life Insuranceis a multinational life insurance company headquartered in Seoul, founded in March 1957 as Dongbang Life Insurance. It became an affiliate of the Samsung Group in July 1963.Samsung Life's principal activity is the provision of individual life insurance and annuity products and services.As of December 2011it had operations in seven countries, 8.08 million customers and 5,975 employees.Samsung Life had total sales of 22,717 billion won in 2011 and total assets of 161,072 billion won at 31 December 2011.It is the largest provider of life insurance in South Korea. Samsung Air China Life Insurance is a 50:50 joint venture betweenSamsung Life InsuranceandChina National Aviation Holding.It was established in Beijing in July 2005.Siam Samsung Life Insurance: Samsung Life Insurance holds a 37 per cent stake while the Saha Group also has a 37.5 per cent stake in the joint venture, with the remaining 25 per cent owned by Thanachart Bank.It is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 032830).

Samsung SDIbuildslithium-ion batteriesforelectric vehiclessuch as theBMW i3,and acquiredMagna Steyr's battery plant nearGrazin 2015.Samsung SDI also produced CRTs and VFD displays until 2012.SDI began using the "21700"cell format in August 2015.Samsung plans to convert its factory inGöd,Hungary to supply 50,000 cars per year.Samsung SDI useslithium-iontechnology for its phone and portable computer batteries.On 5 December 2012, the European Union's antitrust regulator fined Samsung SDI and several other major companies forfi xing pricesof TVcathode-ray tubesin two cartels lasting nearly a decade.It is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 006400).

Samsung SDSis a multinational IT Service company, founded in March 1985. Its main activity is the deployment of IT systems (ERP,IT infrastructure, IT consulting, IT outsourcing,data centeroperation, etc.). It is Korea's largest IT service company. It achieved total revenues of 6,105.9 billion won (US$5.71 billion) in 2012.Samsung C&T Corporationis listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (000830).Samsung Electro-Mechanics,established in 1973 as a manufacturer of key electronic components, is headquartered inSuwon,Gyeonggi Province,South Korea. It is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 009150).Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology(SAIT), established in 1987, is headquartered in Suwon and operates research labs around the world.

Ace Digitechis listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 036550).Cheil Industriesis listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 001300).

Cheil Worldwideis amarketing companythat offers advertising, public relations, etc. It is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 030000).

Creduis listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 067280).

Imarket Koreaprovides procurement services andbusiness-to-businessgoods. It is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 122900).

Samsung Cardis a South Korean credit card company. It is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 029780).

Hotel Shilla(also known as "The Shilla" ) opened in March 1979, following the intention of the lateLee Byung-chul,founder of the Samsung Group. Shilla Hotels and Resorts is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 008770).

Samsung C&T Corporationcovers the three main sectors of Environment & Asset, Food Culture and Resort.

Samsung Medical Centerwas founded on 9 November 1994, under the philosophy of "contributing to improving the nation's health through the best medical service, advanced medical research and development of outstanding medical personnel". The Samsung Medical Center consists of a hospital and a cancer center, which is the largest in Asia.The hospital is located in an intelligent building with floor space of more than 200,000 square meters and 20 floors above ground and 5 floors underground, housing 40 departments, 10 specialist centers, 120 special clinics and 1,306 beds. The 655-bed Cancer Center has 11 floors above ground and 8 floors underground, with floor space of over 100,000 square meters. SMC is a tertiary hospital staffed by approximately 7,400, including over 1,200 doctors and 2,300 nurses. Since its foundation in the 1990s, the Samsung Medical Center has successfully incorporated and developed an advanced model with the motto of becoming a "patient-centered hospital", a new concept in Korea.Samsung donates around US$100 million per annum to the Samsung Medical Center.It incorporates Samsung Seoul Hospital, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Samsung Cancer Center and Samsung Life Sciences Research Center. In 2010, the Samsung Medical Center and pharmaceutical multinationalPfizeragreed to collaborate on research to identify the genomic mechanisms responsible for clinical outcomes inhepatocellular carcinoma.

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  Samsung Taepyeong-ro HQ inJung District,Seoul
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  Samsung Engineering India Office inNew Delhi,India
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  Samsung Japan's regional HQ atRoppongi,Minato,Tokyo,Japan
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  TheSamsung Hub,formerly3 Church Street,is askyscraperlocated in theDowntown Coreof Singapore.

Divested

Hanhwa Techwinwas a developer and manufacturer ofsurveillance(including security cameras),aeronautics,optoelectronics,automationsandweapons technology.It was announced to be sold toHanwha Groupin December 2014and the take-over completed in June 2015.It was later renamed Hanwha Techwin. The company was listed on theKorea Exchangestock-exchange (number 012450)

Samsung Thales Co., Ltd.(until 2001 known asSamsung Thomson-CSF Co., Ltd.) was a joint venture between Samsung-Techwin and the France-based aerospace and defense companyThales.It was established in 1978 and is based in Seoul.Samsung's involvement was passed on to theHanwha Groupas part of the Techwin transaction.

Samsung General Chemicalswas sold to Hanwha. Another chemical division was sold toLotte Corporationin 2016.

Hanhwa Totalwas a 50/50 joint venture between Samsung and the France-based oil groupTotalEnergies(more specifically, Samsung General Chemicals and Total Petrochemicals). Samsung's stake was inherited by Hanwha Group in its acquisition of Samsung General Chemicals.

Defunct

Alpha Processor Inc.(API) was established in 1998 as a joint venture with U.S.-basedCompaq,to enter the high-endmicroprocessormarket. The venture was also aimed at expanding Samsung's non-memory chip business by manufacturingDEC AlphaCPUs. At the time, Samsung and Compaq invested $500 million in Alpha Processor.

GE Samsung Lightingwas a joint venture between Samsung and the GE Lighting subsidiary ofGeneral Electric.The venture was established in 1998 and was broken up in 2009.

Global Steel Exchangewas a joint venture formed in 2000 between Samsung, the U.S.-basedCargill,the Switzerland-basedDuferco Group,and the Luxembourg-based Tradearbed (now part of theArcelorMittal), to handle their online buying and selling of steel.

Logo of Samtron

Samtronwas a subsidiary of Samsung until 1999 when it became independent. After that, it continued to make computer monitors and plasma displays until 2003, Samtron became Samsung when Samtron was a brand. In 2003 the website redirected to Samsung.

S-LCD Corporationwas a joint venture between Samsung Electronics (50% plus one share) and the Japan-basedSonyCorporation (50% minus one share) established in April 2004. On 26 December 2011, Samsung Electronics announced that it would acquire all of Sony's shares in the venture.

Joint ventures

Samsung Fine Chemicalsis listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 004000).

Samsung Machine Tools of Americais a national distributor of machines in the United States. Samsung GM Machine Tools is the head office of China, It is an SMEC Legal incorporated company.

Samsung Securitiesis listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 016360).

S-1was founded as Korea's first specialized security business in 1997 and has maintained its position at the top of industry with the consistent willingness to take on challenges. S1 Corporation is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 012750.KS).

State-run Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp. set up the venture, aT Grain Co., inChicago,with three other South Korean companies, Korea Agro-Fisheries owns 55 per cent of aT Grain, while Samsung C&T Corp,HanjinTransportation Co. andSTX Corporationeach hold 15 per cent.

Brooks Automation Asia Co., Ltd.is a joint venture betweenBrooks Automation(70%) and Samsung(30%) which was established in 1999. The venture locally manufactures and configure vacuumwaferhandling platforms and 300mmFront-Opening Unified Pod(FOUP) load port modules, and designs, manufactures and configures atmospheric loading systems forflat panel displays.

POSS – SLPC s.r.o.was founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of Samsung C & T Corporation, Samsung C & T Deutschland and the companyPOSCO.

Samsung BP Chemicals,headquartered inUlsan,is a 49:51 joint venture between Samsung and the UK-basedBP,which was established in 1989 to produce and supply high-value-added chemical products. Its products are used in rechargeable batteries and liquid crystal displays.

Samsung Corning Precision Glassis a joint venture between SamsungandCorning,which was established in 1973 to manufacture and market cathode ray tube glass for black and white televisions. The company's first LCD glass substrate manufacturing facility opened inGumi,South Korea, in 1996.

Samsung Sumitomo LED Materialsis a Korea-based joint venture between Samsung LED Co., Ltd., an LED maker based inSuwon,Korea-based and the Japan-basedSumitomo Chemical.The JV will carry out research and development, manufacturing and sales of sapphire substrates for LEDs.

SD Flex Co., Ltd.was founded in October 2004 as a joint venture corporation by SamsungandDuPont,one of the world's largest chemical companies.

Sermatech Koreaspecializes in aircraft construction processes such as special welding and brazing.GKN(formerly Sermatech International) owns 51% of its stock, while Samsungowns the remaining 49%.

Siltronic Samsung Wafer Pte. Ltd,is a joint venture between Samsung and wholly ownedWacker Chemiesubsidiary Siltronic. It was officially opened in Singapore in June 2008.

SMP Ltd.is a joint venture between Samsung Fine Chemicals andMEMC.In 2011, MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. and an affiliate of Korean conglomerate Samsung formed a joint venture to build apolysiliconplant.

Stemcois a joint venture established between Samsung Electro-Mechanics andToray Industriesin 1995.

SB LiMotiveis a 50:50 joint company ofRobert Bosch GmbH(commonly known as Bosch) and Samsung SDI founded in June 2008. The joint venture develops and manufactureslithium-ion batteriesfor use in hybrid-, plug-inhybrid vehiclesand electric vehicles.

Partially owned companies

Samsung Heavy Industries owns 10% of the BrazilianshipbuilderAtlântico Sul,whose Atlântico Sul Shipyard is the largestshipyardin South America. TheJoao Candido,Brazil's largest ship, was built by Atlântico Sul with technology licensed by Samsung Heavy Industries.The companies have a technical assistance agreement through which industrial design, vessel engineering and other know-how is being transferred to Atlântico Sul.

Samsung Life Insurance currently holds a 7.4% stake in the South Korean banking companyDGB Financial Group,making it the largest shareholder.DGB Financial Group is a Korea-based company that specialises in banking. The company is divided into six segments of operation and each segment's primary source of funds come from general public deposits.

Samsungacquired 7.4% ofGorilla GlassmakerCorning,signing a long-term supply deal.Corningis an American company that is experienced in glass chemistry, ceramics science, and optical physics, as well as its manufacturing and engineering, to create goods that support industries and improve living standards. Corning is committed to long-term research and development.

Samsung Heavy Industries currently holds a 14.1% stake inDoosan Engine,making it the second-largest shareholder.Doosan Groupis a South Korean company found in 1896 by Park Seung-jik. The company specializes in heavy industries and construction such as power plants and desalination plants.

MEMC's joint venture with Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. In 1990, MEMC entered into a joint venture agreement to construct asiliconplant in Korea.MEMC Korea Company is a Korean manufacturer and distributor of electronic components, ingots, silicon wafers, and other products.

Samsungbuys 10% stake in rival phone makerPantech.Pantech is a South Korean company found in 1991. Pantech manufactures mobile phones and tablets. Pantech serves in many countries, including South Korea,United States,Japan,Europe,Vietnam,andChina.

Samsungcurrently owns 4.19% ofRambusIncorporated.Rambus Incorporated is an American technology company found in 1990. The company specializes in producing electronic components such as licenses chip interface technologies and architectures used in digital electronic products.

Samsungcurrently owns 19.9% of the automobile manufacturerRenault Korea Motors.Renault Samsung Motors is a South Korean automotive company found in 1994. The company made car related transactions starting in 1998 and since have expanded into a range of cars and electric car models.

Samsungcurrently owns 9.6% ofSeagate Technology,making it the second-largest shareholder. Under a shareholder agreement, Samsung has the right to nominate an executive to Seagate's board of directors.Seagate Technology is an American company that works in the computer storage industry. Seagate Technology was found in 1979. The company is a major supplier of microcomputers and hard disks.

Samsungowns 3% ofSharp Corporation,a rival company to Samsung.Sharp Corporation is a Japanese company found in 1912. The company specializes in designing and manufacturing electronic products, such as phones, microwave ovens, and air conditioners.

Samsung Engineering holds a 10% stake in Sungjin Geotec, an offshore oil drilling company that is a subsidiary ofPOSCO.SungJin Geotec is a South Korean company found in 1989. The company specializes in manufacturing and developing offshore facilities, oil sand modules,petrochemical plantcomponents, anddesalination plants.

Taylor Energyis an independent American oil company that drills in theGulf of Mexicobased inNew Orleans,Louisiana.Samsung Oil & Gas USA Corp., subsidiaries of Samsung,currently owns 20% of Taylor Energy. Taylor Energy is an American oil and gas company found in 1979. The company works mainly in the oil drilling industry and drills in the Gulf of Mexico.

Acquisitions and attempted acquisitions

Samsunghas made the following acquisitions and attempted acquisitions:

Samsung Techwinacquired the German camera manufacturerRolleiin 1995. Samsung (Rollei) used its optic expertise on the crystals of a new line of 100% Swiss-made watches. But on 11 March 1995, theCologneDistrict court prohibited the advertising and sale ofRolleiwatches on German territory.In 1999,Rolleimanagement bought out the company.

Samsunglost a chance to revive its failed bid to take over Dutch aircraft makerFokkerwhen other airplane makers rejected its offer to form a consortium. The three proposed partners – Hyundai, Hanjin and Daewoo – notified the South Korean government that they would not join Samsung Aerospace Industries.

Samsungbought a 40% stake inAST Researchin 1995, in a failed attempt to break into the North American computer market. Samsung was forced to close the California-based computer maker following mass resignations of research staff and a string of losses.

In 1995, Samsung's textile departmentinvested inFUBU,an American hip hop apparel company, after the founder placed an advertisement asking for funding in The New York Times newspaper.

Samsung Securities Co., Ltd. andCity of London-basedN M Rothschild & Sons(more commonly known simply asRothschild) have agreed to form a strategic alliance in investment banking business. Two parties will jointly work on cross-border mergers and acquisition deals.

In December 2010, Samsung Electronics boughtMEDISON Co., a South Korean medical-equipment company, the first step in a long-discussed plan to diversify from consumer electronics.Grandis Inc. – memory developer in July 2011, Samsung announced that it had acquiredspin-transfer torque random access memory(MRAM) vendor Grandis Inc.Grandis will become a part of Samsung's R&D operations and will focus on the development of next-generation random-access memory.

On 26 December 2011, the board of Samsung Electronics approved a plan to buySony's entire stake in their 2004 joint liquid-crystal display (LCD) venture for 1.08 trillion won ($938.97 million).

On 9 May 2012,mSpotannounced that it had been acquired by Samsung Electronics with the intention of a cloud-based music service.The succeeding service wasSamsung Music Hub.

In December 2012, Samsungannounced that it had acquired the privately held storage software vendor NVELO, Inc., based inSanta Clara, California.NVELO will become part of Samsung's R&D operations, and will focus on software for intelligently managing and optimizing next-generation Samsung SSD storage subsystems for consumer and enterprise computing platforms.

In January 2013, Samsungannounced that it has acquiredmedical imagingcompanyNeuroLogica,part of the multinational conglomerate's plans to build a leading medical technology business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

On 14 August 2014, SamsungacquiredSmartThings,a fast-growing home automation startup. The company did not release the acquisition price, but TechCrunch reported a $200 million price tag when it first caught word of the deal in July 2014.

On 19 August 2014, Samsungsaid it had acquired U.S. air conditioner distributorQuietsideLLC as part of its push to strengthen its "smart home" business. A Samsung Electronics spokesman said the South Korean company acquired 100 per cent of Quietside.

On 3 November 2014, Samsungannounced it had acquiredProximal Data,Inc., a San Diego, California-based pioneer of server-side caching software with I/O intelligence that work within virtualized systems.

On 18 February 2015, Samsungacquired U.S.-based mobile payments firmLoopPay– This allows Samsung in smartphone transactions.

On 5 March 2015, Samsungacquired small U.S.-based manufacturer of light-emitting diode displays,YESCO Electronics,which focuses on making digital billboards and message signs.

On 5 October 2016, Samsungannounced it had acquiredViv,a company working onartificial intelligence.

On 15 November 2016, Samsung Canada announced it has acquiredRich Communications Services,a company working on a new technology for text messaging.

Major clients

One of the world's largest oil and gas projects,Sakhalin-II- Lunskoye platform under construction. The topside facilities of the LUN-A (Lunskoye) and PA-B (Piltun Astokhskoye) platforms were built at theSamsung Heavy Industries' shipyard in South Korea.

Major clients include:

Shell plc

Samsung Heavy Industries is sole provider ofliquefied natural gas(LNG) storage facilities worth up to US$50 billion toShell plcfor 15 years, between 2009-2024.

Shell unveiled plans to build the world's firstfloating liquefied natural gas(FLNG) platform. In October 2012atSamsung Heavy Industries' shipyard onGeoje Islandin South Korea work started on a "ship" that, when finished and fully loaded, weighs 600,000 tonnes, the world's biggest "ship"..

United Arab Emirates government

In 2009, a consortium of South Korean firms, including Samsung,Korea Electric Power CorporationandHyundai,won a deal worth $40 billion to buildnuclear power plantsin the United Arab Emirates.

Ontario government

The government of theCanadian provinceofOntariosigned one of the world's largestrenewable energyprojects, a deal worth $6.6 billion for an additional2,500 MWof new wind andsolar energy.Under the agreement, a consortium led by Samsung and the Korea Electric Power Corporation manages the development of2,000 MW-worth of newwind farmsand500 MWof solar capacity, while also building a manufacturing supply chain in the province.

Corporate image

• 
  First Samsung logo (1938)
• 
  1969-1979
• 
  1979–1993, as Samsung Electronics logo
• 
  1993–current, though still used by other Samsung companies than its electronics segment
• 
  2015–current, Samsung Electronics's wordmark and current corporate logo

The basic colour in the logo is blue, which Samsung has employed for years, supposedly symbolizing stability, reliability andcorporate social responsibility.

Audio logo

Samsung has an audio logo, which consists of the notes E♭, A♭, D♭, E♭; after the initial E♭ tone it is up a perfect fourth to A♭, down a perfect fifth to D♭, then up a major second to return to the initial E♭ tone. The audio logo was produced byMusikvergnuegenand written byWalter Werzowa.This audio logo is discontinued as of 2015.

Font

In 2014, Samsung unveiled its Samsung Sharp Sans font.

In July 2016, Samsung unveiled its SamsungOne font, a typeface that hopes to give a consistent and universal visual identity to the wide range of Samsung products. SamsungOne was designed to be used across Samsung's diverse device portfolio, with a focus on legibility for everything from smaller devices like smartphones to larger connected TVs or refrigerators, as well as Samsung marketing and advertisements. The font family supports 400 different languages through over 25,000 characters.

Sponsorships

For further information on Samsung's sports sponsorships, seeSamsung Sports.

A Samsung display in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics

Samsung Electronicsspent an estimated $14 billion (U.S.) on advertising andmarketingin 2013. At 5.4% of annual revenue, this is a larger proportion than any of the world's top-20 companies by sales (Applespent 0.6% andGeneral Motorsspent 3.5%). Samsung became the world's biggest advertiser in 2012, spending $4.3 billion, compared to Apple's $1 billion. Samsung's global brand value of $39.6 billion is less than half that of Apple.

In Vietnam

In March 2008, Samsung received an investment certificate and began construction of its first mobile phone manufacturing plant in Vietnam, Samsung Electronics Vietnam (SEV) inBac Ninh.The project originally had an investment capital of 670 million USD, but it was quickly increased to 1.5 billion USD, then to 2.5 billion USD, nearly four times the original investment capital.

In the period from 2018 to 2022, Samsung contributed over 306 billion USD in export revenue toVietnam.In 2022 alone, despite the impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic,the figure reached 65 billion USD, contributing significantly toVietnam's total export value, which for the first time exceeded the 700 billion USD threshold, reaching over 732 billion USD.

In addition, Samsung has also brought Vietnamese businesses deeper into the global value chain and contributed significantly to the development of the electronics industry inVietnam.Currently, the number of Vietnamese first- and second-tier suppliers in Samsung's global supply chain has increased tenfold, from 25 businesses in 2014 to 257 businesses by the end of 2022.

Controversies

Labor Abuses

Samsung was the subject of several complaints aboutchild laborin its supply chain from 2012 to 2015.

In July 2014, Samsung cut its contract with Shinyang Electronics after it received a complaint about the company violating child labor laws.Samsung says that its investigation turned up evidence of Shinyang using underage workers and that it severed relations immediately per its "zero tolerance" policy for child labor violations.

One of Samsung's Chinese supplier factories, HEG, was criticized for using underage workers byChina Labor Watch(CLW) in July 2014. HEG denied the charges and has sued China Labor Watch.CLW issued a statement in August 2014 claiming that HEG employed over ten children under the age of 16 at a factory inHuizhou,Guangdong.The group said the youngest child identified was 14 years old. Samsung said that it conducted an onsite investigation of the production line that included one-on-one interviews but found no evidence of child labor being used. CLW responded that HEG had already dismissed the workers described in its statement before Samsung's investigators arrived.

CLW also claimed that HEG violated overtime rules for adult workers. CLW said a female college student was only paid her standard wage despite working four hours of overtime per day even though Chinese law requires overtime pay at 1.5 to 2.0 times standard wages.

In 2020, theAustralian Strategic Policy Instituteaccused at least 82 major brands, including Samsung, of being connected to forcedUyghurlabor inXin gian g.

Union-busting activity

Main article:Samsung and unions

Samsung has a no-union policy and has been engaged in union-busting activities around the world.Samsung has also been sued by a union for stealing the corpse of a dead worker.On 6 May 2020, Samsung vice chairmanLee Jae-yongapologized for the union-busting scandals.

2007 Slush Fund Scandal

Kim Yong-chul, the former head of the legal department at Samsung's Restructuring Office, andCatholic Priests Association for JusticeuncoveredLee Kun-hee'sslush fundon 29 October 2007. He presented a list of 30 artworks that the Lee family purchased with some of the slush funds, which were to be found in Samsung's warehouse in south ofSeoul,along with documents about bribes to prosecutors, judges and lawmakers, tax collectors with thousands of borrowed-named bank account.

The court sentencedLee Kun-heeto 3 years' imprisonment with 5 years' probation, and fined him₩11 billion (US$9.62 million). But on 29 December 2009, the South Korean presidentLee Myung-bakspecially pardoned Lee, stating that the intent of the pardon was to allow Lee to remain on theInternational Olympic Committee.

Kim Yong-chul published a book 'Thinking about Samsung' in 2010. He wrote detailed accounts of Samsung's behavior and how the company lobbied governmental authorities including the court officials, prosecutors and national tax service officials for transferring Samsung's management rights toLee Jae-yong.

Lee Kun-hee's Prostitution Scandal

In July 2016, the investigative journal KCIJ-Newstapa released a video which appeared to show Samsung chairmanLee Kun-heepaying a group of prostitutes for sex acts.The footage was filmed on five separate occasions between December 2011 and June 2013 both at Lee's residence and a secret rental home.

Police detained six suspects for taking the compromising videos without Lee Kun-hee's knowledge.Investigators stated that, by threatening to release the tapes, the suspects were able to extort₩500 million (US$437,082.04) from Samsung, a claim which Samsung representatives denied.

One of the suspects, surnamed Seon, was a former executive of a competitorChaebol,CJ CheilJedang,which used to be part of Samsung Group until its separation in 1993.Lee Kun-hee's older brother isLee Jay-hyun,the Chairman of CJ CheilJedang, and the two shared a heated rivalry.This fraternal feud fueled rumours that, as a former CJ employee had been indicted, Lee Jay-hyun had co-ordinated the scandal against his younger brother. However, prosecutors were not able to find sufficient evidence that CJ's leadership had knowledge or involvement in their former executive's actions.

On 12 April 2018,Supreme Court of Koreasentenced the former employee ofCJ CheilJedangto four years and six months in prison for blackmail and intimidation.

While it was speculated that prosecutors were looking into Lee Kun-hee's culpability for sex trafficking, charges were never pursued, likely due to his health.Lee Kun-hee had suffered a heart attack in 2014 and had lapsed into a coma, where he remained until his death in 2020.

2017 Bribery Scandal

In February 2017,de factoSamsung leaderLee Jae-yongwas arrested for bribery, embezzlement, hiding assets overseas and perjury. In return for government approval for a merger of two Samsung affiliates, it was alleged that Lee paid₩43 billion (US$37.59 million) to a close friend of incumbent PresidentPark Geun-hye.He was convicted and initially sentenced to 5 years incarceration, but left prison after a year when the Seoul High Courtsuspendedand halved his sentence.Then, following a retrial in 2021, Lee was sent back to prison for 2.5 years.He was released early after serving 10 months of his sentence in August 2021 as part of South Korea's yearly tradition of clemency onLiberation Day.In August 2022, Lee received a presidential pardon, which was supported by 70% of the Korean public, according to local polls.

Supporting far-right groups

The investigative team of special prosecutors looking into the2016 South Korean political scandalannounced that theBlue Housereceived money from South Korea's four largest chaebols (Samsung,Hyundai Motor Group,SK GroupandLG Group) to fund pro-government demonstrations by conservative and far-right organizations such as the Korean Parent Federation (KPF) and the Moms Brigade.

Price fi xing

On 19 October 2011, Samsung companies were fined €145,727,000 for being part of a price cartel of ten companies forDRAMswhich lasted from 1 July 1998 to 15 June 2002. The companies received, like most of the other members of the cartel, a 10% reduction for acknowledging the facts to investigators. Samsung had to pay 90% of their share of the settlement, but Micron avoided payment as a result of having initially revealed the case to investigators.

In Canada, during 1999, someDRAMmicrochip manufacturersconspiredto price fix, among the accused included Samsung. The price fix was investigated in 2002. A recession started to occur that year, and the price fix ended; however, in 2014, the Canadian government reopened the case and investigated silently. Sufficient evidence was found and presented to Samsung and two other manufacturers during aclass action lawsuithearing. The companies agreed upon a $120 million agreement, with $40 million as a fine, and $80 million to be paid back to Canadians who purchased a computer, printer, MP3 player, gaming console or camera from April 1999 to June 2002.

Misleading claims

In Australia during 2022, Australia's competition and consumer commission fined Samsung AU$14 million. The fine came due to misleading water resistance claims for over 3.1 million smartphones. The commission stated that during 2016–2018 the company advertised its Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, A5, A7, S8, S8 Plus and Note 8 devices as able to survive short immersion in water. However, after many user complaints about the devices having issues after water submersion, such as charger port corrosion. The ACC have officially labelled the fact these devices have "water resistance" listed as a feature misleading and proceeded with the fine.

External links

• Official website