The Samsung Group (Korean: Samseong) is South Korea's largest conglomeratechaebol) and one of the largest multi-billion dollar corporations in the world leading several major global industries. It is composed of numerous multinational businesses, all united under the prestige Samsung brand, one of the most valued global brands, including Samsung Electronics, the world's largest electronics company, Samsung Heavy Industries, one of the world's biggest shipbuilders and Samsung Engineering & Construction, a major global construction company. These three businesses form the core of Samsung Group and reflect its name — the meaning of the Korean word samsung is "tristar" or "three stars". The SamsungSony as the world's No.1 consumer electronics brand and became part of the Top 20 global brands overall. Samsung Group is also the leader in several other industries domestically, such as the Financial, Chemical, Retail and Entertainment industries. ( brand is the best known Korean brand in the world and in 2005, Samsung overtook Samsung Group is South Korea's largest company and exporter and the 5th largest transnational corporation in the world. It has been run by generations of one of the world's wealthiest families, currently helmed by chairman Lee Kun-Hee, the third son of the founder, Lee Byung-Chul. Samsung Group is recognized as the most prestigious firm in South Korea, attracting and owning many of the country's most intelligent and best talented pupils, with 25% of its employees having a PhD degree or equivalent. South Korean Samsung employees are also highly loyal to the company, working for very long hours with no weekends or holidays until they retire.
Samsung Group accounts for more than 20% of South Korea's total exports, with strong government support, including the ability to access unlimited amount of funds from major banks in South Korea. In many domestic industries, Samsung Group is the sole monopoly dominating a single market, its revenue as large as some developing countries' total GDP. The company has a powerful influence on the country's economic development, politics, media and culture. Many Koreans consider Samsung Group a symbol of national pride and businesses use its international success as a model, with the company being known as "Another Family" in South Korea.
Samsung means “three stars” in Korean. Lee Byung-Chull founded Samsung in 1938. It started as a small trading company with forty employees, located in Seoul. The company did fairly well until the Communist invasion in 1950 which caused great damage to his inventories. He was forced to leave and start over in Suwon in 1951. In just a year, the company’s assets had grown twentyfold. In 1953, Lee created a sugar refinery—the South Korea’s first manufacturing facility after the Korean War. “The company prospered under Lee’s philosophy of making Samsung the leader in each industry he entered” (Samsung Electronics). The company started moving into service businesses such as insurance, securities, and department store. In the early 1970s, Lee borrowed money from foreign companies to begin the mass communication industry by launching a radio and television station (Samsung Electronics).
South Korean President Park Chung-Hee’s regime during the 1960s and 1970s, helped Samsung Electronics and many other Korean firms. Park put great importance in increasing economic growth and development, and assisted large, profitable companies, protecting them from competition and aiding financially as well. His government banned several exterior companies selling consumer electronics in South Korea. “To make up for a lack of technological expertise in South Korea, the South Korean government effectively required foreign telecommunications equipment manufacturers to hand over advanced semiconductor technology in return for access to the Korean market” (Samsung Electronics). This enormously helped Samsung to manufacture the first Korean dynamic random access memory chips. “Furthermore, although Samsung Electronics was free to invest in overseas companies, foreign investors were forbidden to buy into Samsung” (Samsung Electronics). Samsung quickly thrived in the domestic market.
Samsung Group later formed several electronics-related divisions, such as Samsung Electron Devices Co., Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Samsung Corning Co., and Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications Co., and grouped them together under Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. in 1980s. Its first product was a black-and-white television set (Samsung Electronics).
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Samsung Electronics invested heavily in research and development, constructing the company as a leader in the global electronics industry. “By the 1980s Samsung was manufacturing, shipping, and selling a wide range of appliances and electronic products throughout the world” (Samsung Electronics). In 1982, it built a television assembly plant in Portugal; in 1984, it built a $25 million plant in New York; and in 1987, it built another $25 million facility in England (Samsung Electronics).
In 1993 and in order to change the strategy from the imitating cost-leader to the role of a differentiator, Lee Kun-Hee, Lee Byung-Chull’s successor, sold off ten of Samsung Group's subsidiaries, downsized the company, and merged other operations to concentrate on three industries: electronics, engineering, and chemicals (Samsung Electronics).
Samsung became the largest producer of memory chips in the world in 1992. In 1995, it built its first liquid-crystal display screen. Ten years later, Samsung grew to be the world's largest manufacturer of liquid-crystal display panels. Sony, which had not invested in LCDs, contacted Samsung to cooperate. In 2006, S-LCD was established as a joint venture between Samsung and Sony in order to provide a stable supply of LCD panels for both manufacturers. S-LCD is owned by Samsung and Sony 51% to 49% respectively and operates its factories and facilities in Tangjung, South Korea.
Samsung has also tried hard to improve its international image. It has spent more than $6 billion since 1998 on marketing, sponsoring the last five Olympics and erecting a large video sign in Times Square in 2002 (Lee kun-hee). Samsung is very involved in the Asian Games, contributing Samsung Nations Cup Riding Competition, Samsung Running Festival, Samsung World Championship, and still many more around the globe. (Samsung Electronics).