Samsung Group,[3] or simply Samsung (Korean: 삼성 [samsʌŋ]), is a South Korean

multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul,

South Korea.[1] It comprises numerous affiliated businesses,[1] most of them united
under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South Korean chaebol (business
conglomerate). As of 2020, Samsung has the eighth highest global brand value.[4]

Samsung was founded by Lee Byung-chul in 1938 as a trading company. Over the next
three decades, the group diversified into areas including food processing,
textiles, insurance, securities, and retail. Samsung entered the electronics
industry in 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, Shinsegae
Group, CJ Group and Hansol Group, and JoongAng Group.

Notable Samsung industrial affiliates include Samsung Electronics (the world's

largest information technology company, consumer electronics maker and chipmaker
measured by 2017 revenues),[5][6] Samsung Heavy Industries (the world's second
largest shipbuilder measured by 2010 revenues),[7] and Samsung Engineering and
Samsung C&T Corporation (respectively the world's 13th and 36th largest
construction companies).[8] Other notable subsidiaries include Samsung Life
Insurance (the world's 14th largest life insurance company),[9] Samsung Everland
(operator of Everland Resort, the oldest theme park in South Korea)[10] and Cheil
Worldwide (the world's 15th largest advertising agency, as measured by 2012
revenues).[11][12]

Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 1938–1970
2.2 1970–1990
2.3 1990–2000
2.4 2000–present
3 Influence
4 Operations
4.1 Leadership
4.2 Affiliates
4.3 Divested
4.4 Defunct
4.5 Joint ventures
4.6 Partially owned companies
5 Acquisitions and attempted acquisitions
6 Major clients
6.1 United Arab Emirates government
6.2 Ontario government
7 Corporate image
7.1 Audio logo
7.2 Font
8 Sponsorships
9 Controversies
9.1 Labor abuses
9.2 Union-busting activity
9.3 2007 Slush Fund scandal
9.4 Lee Kun-hee's prostitution scandal
9.5 Supporting far-right groups
9.6 Price fixing
9.7 Misleading claims
10 References
11 External links
Etymology
According to Samsung's founder, the meaning of the Korean hanja word Samsung (三星)
is "three stars". The word "three" represents something "big, numerous and
powerful",[13] while "stars" means "everlasting" or "eternal", like stars in the
sky.[14][15]

History
1938–1970

Lee Byung-chul, founder of Samsung

In 1938, during Japanese-ruled Korea, Lee Byung-chul (1910–1987) of a large
landowning family in the Uiryeong county moved to nearby Daegu city and founded
Mitsuboshi Trading Company (株式会社三星商会 (Kabushiki gaisha Mitsuboshi