Slogan: Digitally Yours

Samsung Group- one of the largest conglomerates in the business world; in its homeland, South Korea, the word “chaebol” is used for such companies. Chobol is a large financial and industrial group, predominantly owned by one family and associated with government circles.

The leading division of the corporation Samsung is rightfully Samsung Electronics, a world-famous manufacturer of LCD panels, DVD players, mobile phones, memory modules used in computers, phones, players. Corporations Samsung also belong Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung SDS, Samsung Securities, Samsung C&T Corporation. Until 2000, the composition Samsung also included a unit Samsung Motors, now owned Renault.

Samsung Group was founded in Daegu, Korea, on March 1, 1938. Its founder, entrepreneur Byung-Chull Lee (1910-1987), whose starting capital was only 30,000 won ($2,000), called the company Samsung (Samsung Trading Co), translated from Korean as “three stars”, on the first logos of the company these three stars are present in different variations. One of the most plausible versions about the origin of the name says that the entrepreneur had three sons. (Judging by further development none of the three sons turned out to be a fool, which, in fact, distinguishes the Korean fairy tale from the Russian folk tale.) This version is also supported by the fact that the company, in the spirit of many Asian companies, remained a family business, transferring and increasing capital among a circle of relatives (and making a relative of the one who managed to enter the business, stand out: intra-clan marriages are one of the traditions of business in Asia). The entrepreneur, who according to some sources never received an academic degree, became one of the most famous and most respected people in Korea, the Korean analogue is named after him Nobel Prize— Ho-Am Prize, established by Samsung and awarded for outstanding achievements in the field of science and technology.

The company experienced its rebirth in 1951. After the war and predatory actions on the part of the warring parties, the business was completely destroyed, but it is impossible to destroy the entrepreneurial spirit and, starting from scratch, Byong Chul Lee revived the company, achieving even greater prosperity in just a year. Whatever the entrepreneur did, his sphere of interests included: the production of sugar, wool, and other consumer goods, retail trade, insurance, radio broadcasting, publishing business, and securities trading. In the 1960s Samsung unprecedented success awaited. In order to revive the Korean economy, a policy was pursued to develop large national companies; the state subsidized, supported and helped selected corporations in every possible way, essentially creating greenhouse conditions for them, eliminating competition and giving them broad powers. To the Creator Samsung managed to get closer to government circles, which provided the corporation with unlimited opportunities for growth and expansion.

In the 1970s, Samsung entered the semiconductor market, seeing the promise of this area and the rapid development of the industry. Created Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, a company that included several smaller branches Samsung Group, engaged in electronics ( Samsung Electron Devices, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Corning, Samsung Semiconductor and Telecommunications).

In 1969, the division Samsung — Samsung-Sanyo releases the first batch of black and white televisions. 5 years later the company begins to produce refrigerators and washing machines. After another 5 years - the release of microwave ovens and air conditioners. In 1978, a representative office of the company was opened in the USA. Having managed to become the first in Korea ( Samsung accounts for one-fifth of Korea's total exports), Samsung begins the journey to conquer world leadership. In the 1980s Samsung enters the personal computer market. In 1991, the first mobile phone was developed Samsung, and in 1999 - the first smartphone. In 1992, the company began developing its first DRAM memory chip, then it was about a capacity of 64 MB, now chips with a capacity of 64 GB are produced. Mass production begins in 1998 digital TVs, developed in the company's research center. Year after year Samsung expands its presence in the global market, maintaining leadership in sales of cell phones and televisions.

In 1993, the year of the company's 55th anniversary, an updated logo appeared Samsung- tilted ellipse of blue color, with an inscription inside. The new logo successfully reflected the company’s entry into the international arena, a unique bid for global leadership. Visually it seems that the word Samsung is inside the orbit celestial body, undoubtedly the corporation is a kind of universe, but at the same time this universe is open to the world, just look at the letters "S" And "G"- they are in contact with external space. One of the highlights of the logo is the writing of the letters. "A" without a dash, repeated many times subsequently, this technique still remained familiar Samsung.

Today the advanced unit Samsung Group - Samsung Electronics has become a world leader in the production of electronics and household appliances. Samsung Heavy Industries- the division engaged in shipbuilding is the second in the world. The corporation is headed by Lee Kun Hee, the son of the founder. It is to him that Samsung owes its success in modern world, having assumed the responsibilities of the head of the conglomerate after the death of his father in 1987, Lee Kun-hee abandoned the idea of ​​mass production of goods of low, so-called budget quality and focused the company's efforts on the production of high-quality products that are innovative and ahead of market trends. Brand Samsung benefited a lot from this decision, because those who considered the company’s products to be of insufficient quality last years discover the world of household appliances and electronics with an exceptional price-quality combination, and if we add here high level service of the company, then there is practically no alternative to the company’s products.

Many of us know about the existence of such a company as Samsung. Until recently, it was associated only with large household appliances: washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, microwave ovens, and so on. But over the past few years, the company has released a huge amount of high-quality electronics, and now, when it comes to Samsung, only gadgets come to mind first. Let's find out in more detail what kind of company this is and in what country it was founded.

A Brief History of Samsung

Let's start with the fact that Samsung is a Chinese and part-time South Korean company . Few people know that the history of the brand begins with the production of... rice flour! Young entrepreneur Lee Byung-chul opens an independent supply channel to China during such a difficult time for starting his own business. Over time, Li Ben exports rice, sugar and dried fish, registering a company called Samsung. Already in the 50s of the 20th century, Lee was trying to cooperate with America.

At the turning point of military coups and changes in government, an ambitious businessman stops his activities and goes to jail for his close collaboration with the ousted president. But after the end of the Korean War, roads began to open for entrepreneurs. The new government, led by President Park Chung-hee, is accommodating people like Lin Byung.

At this time, many successful companies were created, among which was Samsung, focused on creating electronics. So, we figured out what kind of Samsung brand it is: whose company, which country. How can you find out which build your device is from, even though you see the logo of that company on it?

How to find out the country of assembly?

Let's say you are holding a Samsung smartphone in your hands and you are interested in finding out the real country of origin. Of course, the inscription on the battery standardly states that the gadget was made in China. But the device itself may be a fake. To find out for sure, you need to find out the IMEI address. This is very easy to do, you need to:

• Go to edit phone number;

Slogan: Digitally Yours

Samsung Group- one of the largest conglomerates in the business world; in its homeland, South Korea, the word “chaebol” is used for such companies. Chobol is a large financial and industrial group, predominantly owned by one family and associated with government circles.

The leading division of the corporation Samsung is rightfully Samsung Electronics, a world-famous manufacturer of LCD panels, DVD players, mobile phones, memory modules used in computers, phones, players. Corporations Samsung also belong Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung SDS, Samsung Securities, Samsung C&T Corporation. Until 2000, the composition Samsung also included a unit Samsung Motors, now owned Renault.

Samsung Group was founded in Daegu, Korea, on March 1, 1938. Its founder, entrepreneur Byung-Chull Lee (1910-1987), whose starting capital was only 30,000 won ($2,000), called the company Samsung (Samsung Trading Co), translated from Korean as “three stars”, on the first logos of the company these three stars are present in different variations. One of the most plausible versions about the origin of the name says that the entrepreneur had three sons. (Judging by further development, none of the three sons turned out to be a fool, which, in fact, distinguishes the Korean fairy tale from the Russian folk tale.) This version is also supported by the fact that the company, in the spirit of many Asian companies, remained a family business, passing on multiplying capital among the circle of relatives (and making a relative of the one who managed to enter the business and stand out: intra-clan marriages are one of the traditions of business in Asia). The entrepreneur, who, according to some sources, never received an academic degree, became one of the most famous and most respected people in Korea; the Korean equivalent of the Nobel Prize, the Ho-Am Prize, established by Samsung and awarded for outstanding achievements in the field of science and technology, is named after him.

The company experienced its rebirth in 1951. After the war and predatory actions on the part of the warring parties, the business was completely destroyed, but it is impossible to destroy the entrepreneurial spirit and, starting from scratch, Byong Chul Lee revived the company, achieving even greater prosperity in just a year. Whatever the entrepreneur did, his sphere of interests included: the production of sugar, wool, and other consumer goods, retail trade, insurance, radio broadcasting, publishing business, and securities trading. In the 1960s Samsung unprecedented success awaited. In order to revive the Korean economy, a policy was pursued to develop large national companies; the state subsidized, supported and helped selected corporations in every possible way, essentially creating greenhouse conditions for them, eliminating competition and giving them broad powers. To the Creator Samsung managed to get closer to government circles, which provided the corporation with unlimited opportunities for growth and expansion.

In the 1970s, Samsung entered the semiconductor market, seeing the promise of this area and the rapid development of the industry. Created Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, a company that included several smaller branches Samsung Group, engaged in electronics ( Samsung Electron Devices, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Corning, Samsung Semiconductor and Telecommunications).

In 1969, the division Samsung — Samsung-Sanyo releases the first batch of black and white televisions. 5 years later, the company begins producing refrigerators and washing machines. After another 5 years - the release of microwave ovens and air conditioners. In 1978, a representative office of the company was opened in the USA. Having managed to become the first in Korea ( Samsung accounts for one-fifth of Korea's total exports), Samsung begins the journey to conquer world leadership. In the 1980s Samsung enters the personal computer market. In 1991, the first mobile phone was developed Samsung, and in 1999 - the first smartphone. In 1992, the company began developing its first DRAM memory chip, then it was about a capacity of 64 MB, now chips with a capacity of 64 GB are produced. In 1998, mass production of digital televisions developed at the company's research center began. Year after year Samsung expands its presence in the global market, maintaining leadership in sales of cell phones and televisions.

In 1993, the year of the company's 55th anniversary, an updated logo appeared Samsung— a tilted blue ellipse with an inscription inside. The new logo successfully reflected the company’s entry into the international arena, a unique bid for global leadership. Visually it seems that the word Samsung is located inside the orbit of a celestial body, undoubtedly the corporation is a kind of universe, but at the same time this universe is open to the world, just look at the letters "S" And "G"- they are in contact with external space. One of the highlights of the logo is the writing of the letters. "A" without a dash, repeated many times subsequently, this technique still remained familiar Samsung.

Today the advanced unit Samsung Group - Samsung Electronics has become a world leader in the production of electronics and household appliances. Samsung Heavy Industries- the division engaged in shipbuilding is the second in the world. The corporation is headed by Lee Kun Hee, the son of the founder. It is to him that Samsung owes its success in the modern world, having accepted the responsibilities of the head of the conglomerate after the death of his father in 1987, Lee Kun-hee abandoned the idea of ​​​​mass production of goods of low, so-called budget quality and focused the company’s efforts on the production of high-quality products that are innovative and ahead of market trends . Brand Samsung gained a lot from this decision, because those who considered the company’s products to be of insufficient quality have in recent years discovered the world of household appliances and electronics with an exceptional price-quality combination, and if we add here the high level of service of the company, then alternatives to the products There is practically no company left.

The active development of the supply of food products, such as rice, sugar and dried fish, made it possible to officially register the Samsung Trading Company trademark. The foreign (for Korea) origin of the name was a consequence of the far-reaching, ambitious plans of the Korean entrepreneur: by the end of the 1950s, Lee Byung was going to establish trade with the countries of the American continent. And after the landing of US troops on the Korean Peninsula, the products of the plant for the production of rice vodka and beer began to be sold to representatives of the allied forces. The Korean War put an end to this business. Warehouses were looted and burned, as were the company's main factories.

There is a legend that in the ruins of a burned house, Lee Byung found a hidden box with money, which he invested in his new business. It was a textile factory, a sugar factory, and later an insurance business. Lee Byung quickly grew rich, despite the fact that the average per capita income in Korea in the 1960s did not exceed $80. It is worth noting that at that time, even in the capital, Seoul, there was no constant electricity; electricity was supplied for several hours a day, and there was no centralized water supply. It is not surprising that a quick military coup overthrew Lee Son Man, the president and close friend Lee Byung, who, as a wealthy entrepreneur, was part of the inner circle of the disgraced ruler. Lee Byung-chul himself was imprisoned for bribery and close acquaintance with the ousted president.

Samsung after the Korean War

New President South Korea General Park Chung-Hee began industrial and economic reforms. A program for the development of the industrial sector of the economy was developed, an increased focus on exports was supported by close relations with the United States, it was planned to take out foreign loans, purchase raw materials and modern technologies, and the profit received will be used again for the purchase of raw materials and equipment. Korean reformers concluded that a stable economy should rely on large concerns, but they had to be created as soon as possible, so government loans and loans were provided to the most prominent businessmen in Korea. They were provided with government orders, while certain legal and tax breaks made it possible for small businesses to grow into large conglomerates. Lee Byung-chul was among the successful entrepreneurs.

Thus, 30 large companies were created (chaebol - “money families”). Among them, in addition to Samsung, were Daewoo, Hyundai, Goldstar (LG), etc. Each “money family” had its own direction: Daewoo - car production, Goldstar - household appliances, Samsung - electronics, Hyundai - construction, etc. d.

Company reform

The merger of Sanyo and Samsung marked the beginning of one of the largest sectors of the Samsung Group - Samsung Electronics. The company managed, albeit with heavy losses, to survive the economic crisis of the 1980s. The price of the crisis is several non-core divisions, a sharp reduction in the number subsidiaries. With the advent of Li Gon-hee to the board, a whole range of reforms was proposed, which involved not only a complete restructuring of the company, but also a change in the very foundations of management: the company had to fully comply with the conditions of the free trade law. Proposals to change the policy regarding external investors were supposed to increase the company's attractiveness for subsidies, since the conglomerate lost financial support from the state.

Until the 1980s, shares of companies included in the concern were circulated only in South Korea, and were in fairly low demand from investors. The reason is traditionally Asian management based on the principles of Confucianism: the board was headed exclusively by representatives of the Li family. External investors had no leverage over decision-making in the management of companies. In addition, traditional management implied lifelong employment and promotion career ladder for long service.

Marketing changes were introduced, a complete redesign of the company's mission and a change in its symbol. The company's first two logos featured three red stars. But Samsung management, considering the previous logo inappropriate for the image of an international corporation, decided to replace it. It was then that the modern emblem was released - a dynamically inclined blue ellipse with the company name written inside. Excellent design and a large-scale advertising campaign did their job: the logo became one of the most recognizable in the world. Advertising students from leading universities are now studying the change of the Samsung logo as an example of an exceptionally successful rebranding.

When developing the new emblem, Eastern philosophy was not avoided. According to company representatives, “the elliptical shape of the logo symbolizes movement in global space, expressing the idea of ​​renewal and improvement.” These changes continued until the 1990s. In 2015, only the company name, written in blue, was left.

Samsung Group financial report for 2006:

The concern's sales growth trends according to the company's annual reports:

General view of the profit distribution structure of the Samsung Group according to the report for 2006:

Companies included in the Samsung Group concern are engaged in electronics and microelectronics, chemical industry, construction, automotive industry, heavy industry, finance and credit, and insurance. The structure of the concern includes the full cycle of electronics production, starting from the extraction of resources, their processing and ending with finished products. Most of the divisions of the conglomerate perform subordinate functions to companies directly involved in the manufacture of finished electronic products, and work exclusively for the concern or only within South Korea. This feature is clearly visible from the distribution of profits across divisions, thus the main income of the concern comes from the electronics industry.

Electronics industry

More than 70% of the concern's sales come from the electronics industry.

Companies in this division:

• Samsung Electronics
• Samsung SDI
• Samsung Electro-Mechanics
• Samsung SDS
• Samsung Networks

The company's electronics industry divisions operate throughout the world, most of its products are exported. The breakdown of Samsung's electronics industry business by region is as follows:

The divisions are engaged in the production of hard drives (HDD), RAM, SRAM (including for the production of video card and processor chips), LCD monitors, LCD and plasma TVs, mobile phones of GSM, CDMA, 3G standards and with WiMAX support, equipment for IP -telephony, laptops, printers, MFPs, household appliances, etc., development of third and fourth generation wireless telecommunications networks, WiMAX.

Distribution of Samsung electronics industry business by technology areas:

It is worth noting the company's success in the US telecommunications market. In the third quarter of 2008, Samsung managed to take first place in mobile phone sales, ahead of its main competitor, Motorola (Strategy Analytics); in the European market, the corporation also took first place, displacing Nokia.

According to statistics from the research company DisplaySearch (Q1 2007), Samsung Electronics occupies a leading position among the leading television brands in the global market; similarly, Samsung remains in first place in the markets of Western and Eastern Europe and the North American region separately:

One of the most important areas, as already noted, is the creation of LCD panels (monitors) and TV, this is evidenced by the ubiquity of production. Samsung Electronics monitor manufacturing plants are located in South Korea (Suwon) (), Hungary (), Malaysia (), Great Britain (1995), Mexico (), China (1998), Brazil (1998), Slovakia (2002), India (2001), Vietnam (2001), Thailand (2001), Spain (2001), Russia (2008).

The main production facility in the suburbs of Seoul became busy with the production of displays highest quality(of all those produced by the concern), the “6 sigma” control system was introduced at this enterprise. Here they develop new models, test them, create the first series of products, and after successful implementation they distribute the burden of manufacturing a new product among factories around the world. This standard has been introduced at most of the concern's factories; for example, it is a corporate strategy for the operation of the Samsung SDI division.

In August 2015, Samsung launched Samsung Pay in South Korea. This tool will allow you to make payments using the brand’s flagship smartphones that support NFC data transfer.

Chemical industry

Division structure chemical industry includes five enterprises:

• Samsung Total Petrochemicals (international company, joint venture with Total Group)
• Samsung Petrochemicals
• Samsung Fine Chemicals
• Samsung BP Chemicals (international company, joint venture with BP Chemicals)

The industry brings the concern about $5 billion a year. Samsung Total Petrochemicals is the group's largest company engaged in the chemical industry; it is a joint venture between the Samsung Group and the French company Total Group, operating in the field of energy and chemistry. The petrochemical complex consists of 15 plants located in Daesan (South Korea), which produce household chemicals, general chemicals, basic chemicals:

• paraxylene
• LPG, fuel

Heavy industry

There are two divisions of the concern in the field of heavy industry:

• Samsung Heavy Industries
• Samsung Techwin

The division brings in about 10% of the concern's profit, as it works mainly on the domestic market of South Korea; in addition, part of the export goes to the USA and China. Among the main areas of activity of this division, it is worth noting work on security structures, the development of new types of weapons, as well as construction oil and gas pipelines, tankers. Major projects include the development of the KTX2 multi-role training aircraft, the K9 self-propelled howitzer, the creation of the world's largest liquefied gas tanker and container ship Xin Los Angeles.

Construction

The construction is carried out by one company of the concern:

• Samsung Engineering

The industry brings the concern about $2 billion a year. The division is engaged in the construction of offices and factories for the Samsung Group around the world, the execution of third-party orders is very rare. Among the buildings developed and designed by this company, it is worth noting the main building Samsung office Group in Seoul, the tallest building in the world - Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates, Petronas Towers in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, Taipei 101 in Taiwan, Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg.

• Light industry

  Samsung Cheil Industries, a company founded in 1954 as a textile manufactory, has successfully transformed into a leader in the fashion industry in the South Korean market, as well as a manufacturer of chemical materials: synthetic resins (ABS, PS) and compounds for the manufacture of semiconductor displays. This company produces such fashionable Korean clothing brands as Bean Pole, Galaxy, Rogatis and LANSMERE.

  Marketing and advertising

  Entertainment and Leisure Industry

  The entertainment and recreation industry is represented in the conglomerate by two companies:

  Everland Resort is located in Yongin, a suburb of Seoul. This is the largest entertainment complex in South Korea. The Shilla Hotels & Resorts is a chain of five-star hotels operating in a strategic alliance with Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces (India). According to various travel agencies Shilla is one of the ten best hotels in the world.

  Payment system

  In September 2015, Samsung launched its own payment system in the United States, Samsung Pay.

  It allows you to make cashless payments using your smartphone. To implement this opportunity, NFC technologies are used simultaneously (to make a payment you need to bring the smartphone almost close to the terminal) and MST, which allows you to use the smartphone as a regular plastic card with magnetic stripe. To achieve this, the device features innovative induction technology capable of generating a magnetic field similar to bank card. The terminal recognizes the field as regular card and executes the transaction.

  Sponsorship and charity activities

  Sponsorship in sports

  Samsung is the owner of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings professional football team, the Samsung Lions baseball team, the Seoul Samsung Thunders basketball team, the Samsung Bichumi women's basketball team, the Samsung Bluefangs volleyball team, and the Samsung Khan pro-StarCraft team.

  As part of its support for the sports movement, Samsung acts as an official sponsor Olympic Games, is a sponsor of the Russian Olympic team, the title sponsor of the Chelsea football club, supports the Russian Youth Olympic Team, and also organizes the Running Festival (since 1995), the Russian President's Golf Cup and many other sports projects.

  Support for the Olympic Movement

  Samsung's involvement in the Olympic movement began in 1988 when the company became the National Sponsor of the Seoul Olympic Games. Since the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano in 1998, the company has joined the group of World Olympic Partners. The company is an official sponsor of:

  • Summer Olympic Games in London in 2012;
  • Winter Olympics 2014 in Sochi;
  • 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

  Samsung and Chelsea Football Club

  The decision to cooperate was made in order to strengthen the company’s position in the field of telecommunications technologies in the European market.

  In July 2009 the company and football club came to a new mutual agreement. The previous agreement was valid until 2010, but it was decided to extend the agreement for another three years. According to the club's official website, the amount of the deal was increased, but exact numbers are not named.

  Sponsorship in art and literature

  • Literary prize "Yasnaya Polyana". Samsung acted as a co-founder of the Yasnaya Polyana award, founded in 2003. The prize winners are authors whose works awaken in readers the ideals of morality and charity. The award is one of the most prestigious literary awards in Russia, is designed to support writers, followers of the morals and ideals of L. Tolstoy, the ideals of humanistic prose and poetry, which express the centuries-old traditions of Russian culture.
  • Big theater . Cooperation between the State Academic Bolshoi Theater and Samsung Electronics began in 1991. Thanks to this union, within the walls of the Bolshoi Theater there appeared a large number of modern equipment, it became possible to reconstruct and update the halls and halls of the theater, modernize the technical base, improve the scenery and costumes for performances. Samsung has allocated more than $2 million for financial support from 2001 to 2001. Samsung fully finances individual projects Bolshoi Theater. For example, the production of Verdi’s opera “Nabucco” (2001), dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the great composer, or the revival of the ballet “Carmen Suite” (230th season, 2005). For the latter, the famous choreographer Alberto Alonso was invited.
  • Hermitage . The cooperation began in 1997. Samsung provides logistical and technical support to the State Hermitage.
  • Center for Contemporary Culture “Garage”. Samsung is a technical partner of the Garage CSK.

  Charity in Russia

  To date, Samsung provides financial and logistical support to 32 orphanages and boarding schools in the Kaluga, Leningrad, Rostov, Samara, Omsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Sverdlovsk regions, Krasnodar and Krasnoyarsk regions.

  Criticism

  Financial scandals

  In 2007, Samsung's former head of lawyers, Kim Yong-chul, alleged that he had engaged in bribery and perjury on behalf of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Kim said Samsung board members were training lawyers to be scapegoats in a “fabricated scenario” to protect Lee, even though those board members were not involved in the case. Kim also told the media that Samsung "took him out of the game" after he refused to pay a $3.3 million bribe to a judge hearing a case in which two of the company's executives were found guilty. Kim revealed that the company, under the names of nearly 1,000 Samsung executives and his own, illegally opened secret bank accounts, four accounts were opened to manage 5,000,000,000 won.

  In February 2017, Samsung Group CEO Jay Lee was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a major corruption scandal. Lee is accused of bribing an official close to President Park Geun-hye to obtain a government contract. Prosecutors accuse Lee of embezzlement, transfer of assets abroad and perjury. Park Geun-hye's presidential powers were suspended as a result of an impeachment vote held on December 9, 2016 in the South Korean Parliament.

  Monopoly

  “You can even say that the chairman of Samsung is more powerful than the president of South Korea. The Korean people view Samsung as invincible and above the law,” said Woo Suk-hoon, host of a popular online economics radio in the article Washington Post under the title "In South Korea, Republic of Samsung", published on December 9, 2012. Critics argued that Samsung squeezed out small businesses by limiting choices for Korean consumers, and sometimes colluded with other giants to set prices, intimidating those who tried to find out the truth. Lee Young Hee, a South Korean presidential candidate, said in the debate: “The government is in the hands of Samsung. Samsung rules the legal world, the press, scientists and bureaucracy."

  Viral Marketing

  Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission is investigating false advertising by Samsung and its Taiwanese advertising agency. The case began after the Commission received complaints alleging that an advertising agency hired students to attack competitors of Samsung Electronics on Internet forums. Samsung made an announcement on its Facebook page, in which it stated that it does not interfere with any expert reports and stops online marketing campaigns, ad writing, or replies in online forums.

  Notes

  1. Traditions East-West (Russian). Retrieved December 1, 2008. Archived February 5, 2012.
  2. Official website Samsung Group_Philosophy of the company (Russian) (unavailable link). Retrieved November 18, 2008. Archived June 19, 2008.
  3. Shin Hyun Hwak. South Korea: not an easy path to prosperity. // Problems of the Far East. - . - No. 5.
  4. The 100 TOP Brands(English) . Retrieved November 18, 2008. Archived February 5, 2012.
  5. Official website Samsung Group_Company symbol (Russian). Retrieved November 18, 2008. Archived February 5, 2012.
  6. Case: Samsung 1993 (undefined) . Archived November 19, 2012.
  7. KRW/USD (exchange rate at the time of report (January 2007): 955.18/$1; KRW/EUR: 1,199.31/€1
  8. Samsung Group annual 2006(English) (unavailable link). Retrieved November 18, 2008. Archived October 16, 2007.
  9. Alexander Prokhorov. Journey to the Samsung Center // ComputerPress. - 2006. - No. 12.
  10. News_Bureaucrats (Russian). 2008-11-07. Retrieved December 7, 2008. Archived May 31, 2012.
  11. Official site Samsung Electronics(Russian) . Retrieved November 18, 2008. Archived February 5, 2012.
  12. Alexey Maksimov. Samsung: bet on production // PCWEEK. - 2003. - No. 396(30).
  13. Official site Samsung SDI(English) (unavailable link). Retrieved November 18, 2008.

The history of the Samsung industrial group, one of the monsters of the modern global economy, began in 1938, then in a unified Korea. An enterprising resident of the town of Daegu, trader Byong Chul Lee, decided to expand his business and, together with his Chinese partners, founded a rice trading company. Things were going well, the company was exploring new areas of activity, the staff was growing, and in 1948 it was decided to give the company a fashionable “American” name: Samsung Trading Co. There is no clear version about the origin of the word Samsung (pronounced “Samson”), but the most common version is that in Korean it means “three stars.” Perhaps the choice of name is related to the three sons of the company's founder, Byong Chul Lee, one of whom, Kun Hee Lee, currently heads the industrial group.

In 1969, the company made a breakthrough into the advanced electronics industry practically from scratch. Together with the Japanese company Sanyo, Samsung Electronics Company “SEC” was created, which specialized in the production of semiconductors and a few years later became the property of Samsung.

A serious step forward in the history of the company occurred in 1969, when it, together with the Japanese company Sanyo, opened a workshop in South Korea for assembling black-and-white Japanese televisions. Already in 1973, a full-fledged large-scale production of various consumer electronics was established in the city of Suwon, and the joint venture came completely under the control of Samsung Trading Co and turned into the Samsung Electronics Corporation.

Having started its activities in the consumer electronics market practically from scratch, within a few years Samsung Electronics took a prominent place in it. By adopting Sanyo technology and then concentrating on the production of semiconductors, the corporation eventually became one of the largest and most famous electronics manufacturers in the world.

In August 1973, the corporation's headquarters moved to Suwon, South Korea, and by December, construction of a consumer electronics plant was completed. Later, the Korean company Semiconductor Co. joined the corporation, marking the beginning of mass production of washing machines and refrigerators.

By 1978, a sales office was opened in the United States, and Samsung Electronics' export volumes exceeded $100 million. In 1979, the first consumer video recorders were released.

In 1980, Korea Telecommunications Co. joined the corporation, which was then renamed Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications Co.

In 1983, production of personal computers began (model: SPC-1000). And in 1983, the 64M DRAM chip with a memory capacity of 64 MB was released, SAMSUNG was the first to release a player capable of reading regular CDs, CD-ROMs, VIDEO-CDs, PHOTO-CDs, CD player-OK. A year later, a sales office was opened in England and a plant for the production of VCRs in the USA, and construction of the largest plant for the production of microwave ovens (2.4 million units per year) was completed.

In 1986, the Korean Management Association awarded Samsung Electronics the " Best company of the year". The same year was marked by the release of the ten millionth color television, the opening of sales offices in Canada and Australia, and research laboratories in California and Tokyo (Japan). In the fall of 1988, a representative office appeared in France, and the corporation merged with Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications Co.

By 1989, Samsung Electronics ranked 13th in the world in the production of semiconductor products and opened factories in Thailand and Malaysia. In 1992, factories were launched in China and Czechoslovakia, and the company itself was included in Group A, according to the international credit rating. In order to improve the management structure, in December of the same year, Samsung Electronics switched to a unified presidential management system.

In December 1991, the development of personal mobile telephone devices was completed.

In August 1992, the development of the mobile telephone system was completed.

The company's early logos featured three stars. But in 1993, Samsung, considering the previous logo to be inconsistent with the image of an international corporation, decided to replace it. It was then that the modern emblem we are accustomed to saw the light of day - a dynamically inclined blue ellipse with the company name written inside. Excellent design and a large-scale advertising campaign did their job: the logo became one of the most recognizable in the world. Advertising students at leading universities are now studying the Samsung logo change as an example of an exceptionally successful rebranding.

In 1994, sales reached US$5 billion, and the Mukoonhwa Factory, using disabled workers, opened in November. By 1995, exports exceeded US$10 billion, and in February Samsung Electronics acquired a 40.25% stake in computer company AST Co. (USA).

In September 1996, Samsung Electronics products were recognized as meeting the ISO-140001 standard.

In May 1997, the company became the first exporter of CDMA equipment to Shanghai (China). The company was elected as an “Olympic Partner” in the “Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturers” category.

Sprint Co. shipped personal communications devices (PCS) in June. (USA). And in July, the world's lightest CDMA cell phone was developed, weighing 137 g.

By 1998, the corporation captured the main share of the LCD monitor market and began mass production of digital TVs. In 1998, Samsung released a new model of DVD player, where specially developed ADAT technology allows you to view discs recorded in the NTSC system on PAL and SECAM TVs without loss of image quality. Diamond heads were introduced into them, the number of which reached six. In March, development of the world's lightest personal telephony device (PCS, model SPH-4100) was completed. In January 1999, Samsung Electronics received the "Best Consumer Electronics Company" award, awarded annually by Forbes Global magazine.

Samsung Electronics is a global leader in semiconductor and telecommunications equipment, as well as in digital convergence technologies. The company employs about 70 thousand people in 87 offices in 47 countries. The company has four main divisions: Digital Media Network Business, Device Solution Network Business, Telecommunications Network Business and Digital Appliance Network Business.

Samsung has manufacturing enterprises in Mexico, Portugal, China, Thailand. Samsung is also the largest manufacturer of cathode ray tubes (Samsung Display Devices Co “SDD”) and has factories in Korea, Malaysia and Germany.

Together with American company General Instruments has developed equipment for television high definition. Samsung still lags behind Japanese companies, but is developing faster than them.

Labor productivity at Samsung is assessed not by the quantity of products produced, but by its quality.

The most profitable for Samsung was the production of semiconductors. Samsung has mastered the production of 64-bit microprocessors with a clock frequency of 800 MHz, which is designed for digital image and sound processing in TVs, camcorders and VCRs.

During the period 2000-2002, Samsung Electronics' position in the global ranking rose by 8 points, and the brand value increased by 30%.

Samsung Electronics knows that its future depends on its customers, so its main goal is to satisfy their needs. The main idea of ​​the corporation's business development is the ability to offer the consumer exactly the product in which he is most interested.

An equally important task for Samsung Electronics is the desire to increase profits for shareholders. To this end, the company continues to work, striving to expand its position in the global market as a global corporation.

Samsung Electronics sees itself as leading the “Era of Revolutionary Digital Convergence”; our task is to turn this vision into reality by turning our company into a digital one - Digital-? Company,” this is how the essence of Samsung Electronics’ philosophy is formulated on the corporation’s official website. The company began to put this philosophy into practice back in the 1990s in all areas of its activities, including the production of televisions.

Samsung Electronics is always looking for ways to change and improve the world. The company's efforts are aimed at protecting environment, support for culture and sports, development of social programs useful to society.

Today it is difficult to find an industry in which Samsung divisions are not involved. Literally everything is produced under this brand: from microwaves and toasters to digital cameras and stereo systems, from cars to ocean-going ships and airplanes. In the domestic market of South Korea, Samsung Group is also engaged in financial transactions, insurance and security activities, as a result of which it forms more than 50% of the country’s total budget. Almost half a million employees work in the corporation's representative offices around the world, and the South Korean city of Suwon, where the headquarters of Samsung Electronics is located, has long been called “Samsung City.”