Samsung Group,[3] or simply Samsung (Korean: 삼성; RR: samseong [samsʌŋ]) (stylized

as SΛMSUNG), is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in

Samsung Digital City, Suwon, 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]

Meaning of the name

According to Samsung's founder, the meaning of the Korean hanja Samsung (三星) is three stars.
The three stands for something big, numerous and powerful,[13] while stars stands
for everlasting or eternal.[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 Shōkai)), or Samsung Sanghoe (주식회사 삼성상회).
Samsung started out as a small trading company with forty employees located in Su-dong (now
Ingyo-dong).[16] It dealt in dried-fish,[16] locally-grown groceries and noodles. The company prospered
and Lee moved its head office to Seoul in 1947. When the Korean War broke out, he was forced to
leave Seoul. He started a sugar refinery in Busan named Cheil Jedang. In 1954, Lee founded Cheil
Mojik and built the plant in Chimsan-dong, Daegu. It was the largest woollen mill ever in the country.
[citation needed]

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-day Samsung 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 and Hyosung Group, Hankook Tire and
other businesses.[17][18]

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 in Suwon. Its
first product was a black-and-white television set.[19]

1970–1990

The SPC-1000, introduced in 1982, was Samsung's first

personal computer (sold in the Korean market only) and used an audio cassette tape to load and
save data – the floppy drive was optional. [20]

In 1980, Samsung acquired the Gumi-based Hanguk Jeonja Tongsin and 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.[21] 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, Shinsegae Group, CJ Group, Hansol Group and the JoongAng Group.
[22]
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.[23] 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".[23]
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 in Austin, Texas, in 1996.
As of 2012, Samsung has invested more than US$13,000,000,000 in the Austin facility, which
operates under the name Samsung Austin Semiconductor. This makes the Austin location the
largest foreign investment in Texas and one of the largest single foreign investments in the United
States.[24][25]

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.[26]

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 branch was awarded contracts to build one of the two Petronas Towers in
Malaysia, Taipei 101 in Taiwan and the Burj Khalifa in United Arab Emirates.[27] In 1993, Lee Kun-
hee sold 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 the Sungkyunkwan University foundation.[28]

Samsung became the world's largest producer of memory chips in 1992 and is the world's second-
largest chipmaker after Intel (see Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Market Share Ranking Year by
Year).[29] In 1995, it created 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
large-size TFT-LCDs, contacted Samsung to cooperate, and, 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 was owned by Samsung (50% plus one share) and Sony (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 of Sony in this joint venture.[30]

Compared to other major Korean companies, Samsung survived the 1997 Asian financial
crisis relatively unharmed. However, Samsung Motor was sold to Renault at a significant loss. As of
2010, Renault Samsung is 80.1 per cent owned by Renault and 19.9 per cent owned by Samsung.
Additionally, Samsung manufactured a range of aircraft from the 1980s to the 1990s. The company
was founded in 1999 as Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the result of a merger between then
three domestic major aerospace divisions of Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries and
Hyundai Space and Aircraft Company. However, Samsung still manufactures aircraft
engines and gas turbines.[31]

2000–present
 The prominent Samsung sign in Times Square, New York
City
In 2000, Samsung[who?] opened a development center in Warsaw, Poland. Its work began with set-top-
box technology before moving into digital TV and smartphones. The smartphone platform was
developed with partners, officially launched with the original Samsung Solstice[32] line of devices and
other derivatives in 2008, which was later developed into Samsung Galaxy line of devices including
Notes, Edge and other products.

The Samsung Group's chairman, Lee Kun-hee (left), with

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, 2013
In 2007, former Samsung chief lawyer Kim Yong Chul claimed that he was involved
in bribing and fabricating evidence on behalf of the group's chairman, Lee Kun-hee, and the
company. Kim said that Samsung lawyers trained executives to serve as scapegoats in 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-fixing. 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 billion won.[33]

In 2010, Samsung[who?] announced a ten-year growth strategy centered around five businesses.[34] One
of these businesses was to be focused on biopharmaceuticals, to which has
committed ₩2,100,000,000,000.[35]

In first quarter of 2012, Samsung Electronics became the world's largest mobile phone maker by unit
sales, overtaking Nokia, which had been the market leader since 1998.[36][37]

On 24 August 2012, nine American jurors ruled that Samsung Electronics had to pay Apple $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.[38] Samsung decried the decision saying that the move could
harm innovation in the sector.[39] It also followed a South Korean ruling stating that both companies
were guilty of infringing on each other's intellectual property.[40] In first trading after the ruling,
Samsung shares on the KOSPI fell 7.7%, the largest fall since 24 October 2008, to
1,177,000 Korean won.[41] Apple then sought to ban the sales of eight Samsung phones (Galaxy S
4G, Galaxy S2 AT&T, Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S
Showcase, Droid Charge and Galaxy Prevail) in the United States[42] which was denied by the court.
[43]

As of 2013, the Fair Trade Commission of Taiwan is investigating Samsung and its local Taiwanese
advertising agency for false 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.[44] Samsung Taiwan made an announcement on its Facebook page 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.[45]

In 2015, Samsung has been granted more U.S. patents than any other company – including IBM,
Google, Sony, Microsoft and Apple. The company received 7,679 utility patents through 11
December.[46]

The Galaxy Note 7 smartphone went on sale on 19 August 2016.[47] 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.[48][49][50]

In 2018, Samsung[who?] launched the world's largest mobile manufacturing facility in Noida, India, with
guest of honour including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[51]

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—from 2022’s 14
trillion won to 2023’s 600 billion won. 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%.[52]

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".[53][54] Its affiliate
companies produce around a fifth of South Korea's total exports.[55] Samsung's revenue was equal to
22.4% of South Korea's $1.67 trillion GDP in 2022.[56]

"You can even say the Samsung chairman is more powerful than the President 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 a Washington Post article 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 to fix prices while 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 and bureaucracy".[57]

Operations
 Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance HQ
Samsung comprises around 80 companies.[58] Its activities include construction, consumer
electronics, financial services, shipbuilding, and medical services,[58] and two research and
development stations that have allowed the chaebol to enter the industries of "high-
polymer chemicals, genetic engineering tools [and biotech as a whole], aerospace,
and nanotechnology."[59]

As of April 2011, the Samsung Group comprised 59 unlisted companies and 19 listed companies, all
of which had their primary listing on the Korea Exchange.[60]

In FY 2009, Samsung reported consolidated revenues of 220 trillion KRW ($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.[61] These amounts do not include the revenues from Samsung's
subsidiaries based outside South Korea.[62]

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's Silicon Valley headquarters in San Jose, California
Samsung Electronics is a multinational electronics and information technology company
headquartered in Suwon and the flagship company of the Samsung Group.[63] Its products include air
conditioners, computers, digital television sets, active-matrix organic light-emitting
diodes (AMOLEDs), mobile phones, display monitors, computer
printers, refrigerators, semiconductors and telecommunications networking equipment.[64]

It was the world's largest mobile phone maker by unit sales in the first quarter of 2012, with a global
market share of 25.4%.[65] It was also the world's second-largest semiconductor maker by 2011
revenues (after Intel).[66]

Steco is the joint venture established between Samsung Electronics and Japan's Toray Industries in
1995.[67] Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corporation (TSST) is a joint venture between
Samsung Electronics and Toshiba of 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 Electronics is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number
005930).

Samsung Biologics is a biopharmaceutical division of Samsung, founded in 2011. It has contract

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).[68] Samsung Bioepis is a biosimilar
medicine producer and joint venture between Samsung Biologics (50 per cent plus one share) and
the U.S.-based Biogen Idec (50 per cent).[69][70] In 2014, Biogen Idec agreed to commercialize future
anti-TNF biosimilar products in Europe through Samsung Bioepis.[71]

Samsung Engineering is a multinational construction company headquartered in Seoul. It was

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.[72] It achieved total revenues of 9,298.2 billion won
(US$8.06 billion) in 2011.[73] Samsung Engineering is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market
(number 02803450).

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance is a multinational general insurance company headquartered in
Seoul.[74] It was founded in January 1952 as Korea Anbo Fire and Marine Insurance and was
renamed Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in December 1993.[75] Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance
offers services including accident insurance, automobile insurance, casualty insurance, fire
insurance, liability insurance, marine insurance, personal pensions and loans.[76] As of March 2011 it
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).[76]

Samsung Heavy Industries is a shipbuilding and engineering company headquartered in Seoul. It

was 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.[77] It
achieved total revenues of 13,358.6 billion won in 2011 and is the world's second-largest shipbuilder
by revenues (after Hyundai Heavy Industries).[78][79] Samsung Heavy Industries is listed on the Korea
Exchange stock market (number 010140).

Samsung Life Insurance is a multinational life insurance company headquartered in Seoul. It was
founded in March 1957 as Dongbang Life Insurance and became an affiliate of the Samsung Group
in July 1963.[80] Samsung Life's principal activity is the provision of individual life insurance and
annuity products and services.[81] As of December 2011 it had operations in seven countries,
8.08 million customers and 5,975 employees.[80] Samsung Life had total sales of 22,717 billion won in
2011 and total assets of 161,072 billion won at 31 December 2011.[80] It is the largest provider of life
insurance in South Korea. Samsung Air China Life Insurance is a 50:50 joint venture
between Samsung Life Insurance and China National Aviation Holding. It was established in Beijing
in July 2005.[82] 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.[83] Samsung Life Insurance is listed on the Korea Exchange stock
market (number 032830).

Samsung SDI is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 006400). On 5 December
2012, the European Union's antitrust regulator fined Samsung SDI and several other major
companies for fixing prices of TV cathode-ray tubes in two cartels lasting nearly a decade.[84] SDI
also builds lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles such as the BMW i3, and acquired Magna
Steyr's battery plant near Graz in 2015.[85] SDI began using the "21700" cell format in August 2015.
[86]
Samsung plans to convert its factory in Göd, Hungary to supply 50,000 cars per year.[87] Samsung
SDI also produced CRTs and VFD displays until 2012.[88][89][90][91] Samsung SDI uses lithium-
ion technology for its phone and portable computer batteries.[92]

Samsung SDS is a multinational IT Service company headquartered in Seoul. It was founded in

March 1985. Its principal activity is the providing IT system (ERP, IT Infrastructure, IT Consulting, IT
Outsourcing, Data Center). Samsung SDS 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 Corporation is listed on the
Korea Exchange stock market (000830). Samsung Electro-Mechanics, established in 1973 as a
manufacturer of key electronic components, is headquartered in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South
Korea. It is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 009150).[93] Samsung Advanced
Institute of Technology (SAIT), established in 1987, is headquartered in Suwon and operates
research labs around the world.[94]

Ace Digitech is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 036550). Cheil Industries is
listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number 001300).[95] Cheil Worldwide is listed on the
Korea Exchange stock market (number 030000). Credu is listed on the Korea Exchange stock
market (number 067280). Imarket Korea is listed on the Korea Exchange stock market (number
122900). Samsung Card 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
late Lee Byung-chul, the founder of the Samsung Group. Shilla Hotels and Resorts is listed on the
Korea Exchange stock market (number 008770).[96]
Samsung C&T Corporation covers the three main sectors of Environment & Asset, Food Culture and
Resort.

The Samsung Medical Center was 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.[97] 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.[98] Samsung donates
around US$100 million per annum to the Samsung Medical Center.[99] 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 multinational Pfizer agreed to collaborate on research to identify the genomic
mechanisms responsible for clinical outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma.[100][101]

Samsung Taepyeong-ro HQ in Jung District, Seoul

Samsung Engineering India Office in New Delhi, India

 

Samsung Japan's regional HQ at Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan

The Samsung Hub, formerly 3 Church Street, is a skyscraper located in the Downtown Core of
Singapore.
Divested
Hanhwa Techwin was listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 012450), with its
principal activities being the development and manufacture of surveillance (including security
cameras), aeronautics, optoelectronics, automations and weapons technology. It was announced to
be sold to Hanwha Group in December 2014[102] and the take-over completed in June 2015.[103] It was
later renamed Hanwha Techwin.

Samsung Thales Co., Ltd. (until 2001 known as Samsung Thomson-CSF Co., Ltd., Currently owned
by the Hanwha group) was a joint venture between Samsung Techwin and the France-based
aerospace and defence company Thales. It was established in 1978 and is based in Seoul.
[104]
Samsung's involvement was passed on to Hanwha Group as part of the Techwin transaction.[103]

Samsung General Chemicals was sold to Hanwha. Another chemical division was sold to Lotte
Corporation in 2016.[105][106]

Hanhwa Total was a 50/50 joint venture between Samsung and the France-based oil
group TotalEnergies (more specifically, Samsung General Chemicals and Total Petrochemicals).
Samsung's stake was inherited by Hanwha Group in its acquisition of Samsung General Chemicals.
[103]

Defunct
In 1998, Samsung created a U.S. joint venture with Compaq, called Alpha Processor Inc. (API), to
help it enter the high-end processor market. The venture was also aimed at expanding Samsung's
non-memory chip business by fabricating DEC Alphas. At the time, Samsung and Compaq invested
$500 million in Alpha Processor.[107]
GE Samsung Lighting was a joint venture between Samsung and the GE Lighting subsidiary
of General Electric. The venture was established in 1998 and was broken up in 2009.[108]

Global Steel Exchange was a joint venture formed in 2000 between Samsung, the U.S.-
based Cargill, the Switzerland-based Duferco Group, and the Luxembourg-based Tradearbed (now
part of the ArcelorMittal), to handle their online buying and selling of steel.[109]

Logo of Samtron

Samtron was 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.[citation needed]

S-LCD Corporation was a joint venture between Samsung Electronics (50% plus one share) and the
Japan-based Sony Corporation (50% minus one share) which was 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
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Samsung Fine Chemicals is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 004000).

Samsung Machine Tools of America is 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.[110]

Samsung Securities is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 016360).[111]

S-1 was 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).[112][113]

State-run Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp. set up the venture, aT Grain Co., in Chicago, with three
other South Korean companies, Korea Agro-Fisheries owns 55 per cent of aT Grain, while Samsung
C&T Corp, Hanjin Transportation Co. and STX Corporation each hold 15 per cent.[114]

Brooks Automation Asia Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between Brooks Automation (70%) and
Samsung[who?] (30%) which was established in 1999. The venture locally manufactures and configure
vacuum wafer handling platforms and 300mm Front-Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) load port
modules, and designs, manufactures and configures atmospheric loading systems for flat panel
displays.[115]

Company POSS – SLPC s.r.o. was founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of Samsung C & T Corporation,
Samsung C & T Deutschland and the company POSCO.[116]
Samsung BP Chemicals, based in Ulsan, is a 49:51 joint venture between Samsung and the UK-
based BP, 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.[117][118][119]

Samsung Corning Precision Glass is a joint venture between Samsung[who?] and Corning, 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 in Gumi, South
Korea, in 1996.

Samsung Sumitomo LED Materials is a Korea-based joint venture between Samsung LED Co., Ltd.,
an LED maker based in Suwon, Korea-based and the Japan-based Sumitomo Chemical. The JV will
carry out research and development, manufacturing and sales of sapphire substrates for LEDs.[120]

SD Flex Co., Ltd. was founded in October 2004 as a joint venture corporation by
Samsung[who?] and DuPont, one of the world's largest chemical companies.[121]

Sermatech Korea owns 51% of its stock, while Samsung[who?] owns the remaining 49%. The U.S. firm
Sermatech International, for a business specializing in aircraft construction processes such as
special welding and brazing.[122]

Siltronic Samsung Wafer Pte. Ltd, the joint venture by Samsung and wholly owned Wacker
Chemie subsidiary Siltronic, was officially opened in Singapore in June 2008.[123]

SMP Ltd. is a joint venture between Samsung Fine Chemicals and MEMC. In 2011, MEMC
Electronic Materials Inc. and an affiliate of Korean conglomerate Samsung formed a joint venture to
build a polysilicon plant.[124]

Stemco is a joint venture established between Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Toray Industries in
1995.[125]

SB LiMotive is a 50:50 joint company of Robert Bosch GmbH (commonly known as Bosch) and
Samsung SDI founded in June 2008. The joint venture develops and manufactures lithium-ion
batteries for use in hybrid-, plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles.

Partially owned companies

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Samsung Heavy Industries owns 10% of the Brazilian shipbuilder Atlântico Sul, whose Atlântico Sul
Shipyard is the largest shipyard in South America. The Joao Candido, Brazil's largest ship, was built
by Atlântico Sul with technology licensed by Samsung Heavy Industries.[126] The companies have a
technical assistance agreement through which industrial design, vessel engineering and other know-
how is being transferred to Atlântico Sul.[127]

Samsung Life Insurance currently holds a 7.4% stake in the South Korean banking company DGB
Financial Group, making it the largest shareholder.[128] 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.[129]

Samsung[who?] acquired 7.4% of Gorilla Glass maker Corning, signing a long-term supply deal.
[130]
Corning is 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 in Doosan Engine, making it the second-
largest shareholder.[131] Doosan Group is 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.[132]

MEMC's joint venture with Samsung Electronics Company, Ltd. In 1990, MEMC entered into a joint
venture agreement to construct a silicon plant in Korea.[133] MEMC Korea Company is a Korean
manufacturer and distributor of electronic components, ingots, silicon wafers, and other products.

Samsung[who?] buys 10% stake in rival phone maker Pantech.[134] 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, and China.

Samsung[who?] currently owns 4.19% of Rambus Incorporated.[135] 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.

Samsung[who?] currently owns 19.9% of the automobile manufacturer Renault 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.

Samsung[who?] currently owns 9.6% of Seagate 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.[136] 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.

Samsung[who?] owns 3% of Sharp Corporation, a rival company to Samsung.[137] 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 of POSCO.[138] SungJin Geotec is a South Korean company found in 1989. The company
specializes in manufacturing and developing offshore facilities, oil sand modules, petrochemical
plant components, and desalination plants.[139]

Taylor Energy is an independent American oil company that drills in the Gulf of Mexico based in New
Orleans, Louisiana.[140] Samsung Oil & Gas USA Corp., subsidiaries of Samsung[who?], 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

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Samsung[who?] has made the following acquisitions and attempted acquisitions:

Samsung Techwin acquired the German camera manufacturer Rollei in 1995. Samsung (Rollei)
used its optic expertise on the crystals of a new line of 100% Swiss-made watches. But on 11 March
1995, the Cologne District court prohibited the advertising and sale of Rollei watches on German
territory.[141][142] In 1999, Rollei management bought out the company.[143]

Samsung[who?] lost a chance to revive its failed bid to take over Dutch aircraft maker Fokker when
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.[144]

Samsung[who?] bought a 40% stake in AST Research in 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.[145][146]

In 1995, Samsung's textile department[who?] invested in FUBU, an American hip hop apparel company,
after the founder placed an advertisement asking for funding in The New York Times newspaper.[147]
[148]

Samsung Securities Co., Ltd. and City of London-based N M Rothschild & Sons (more commonly
known simply as Rothschild) have agreed to form a strategic alliance in investment banking
business. Two parties will jointly work on cross-border mergers and acquisition deals.[149]

In December 2010, Samsung Electronics bought MEDISON Co., a South Korean medical-equipment
company, the first step in a long-discussed plan to diversify from consumer electronics.[150] Grandis
Inc. – memory developer in July 2011, Samsung announced that it had acquired spin-transfer torque
random access memory (MRAM) vendor Grandis Inc.[151] Grandis will become a part of Samsung's
R&D operations and will focus on the development of next-generation random-access memory.[152]

On 26 December 2011, the board of Samsung Electronics approved a plan to buy Sony's entire
stake in their 2004 joint liquid-crystal display (LCD) venture for 1.08 trillion won ($938.97 million).[153]

On 9 May 2012, mSpot announced that it had been acquired by Samsung Electronics with the
intention of a cloud-based music service.[154] The succeeding service was Samsung Music Hub.

In December 2012, Samsung[who?] announced that it had acquired the privately held storage software
vendor NVELO, Inc., based in Santa Clara, California.[155] 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, Samsung[who?] announced that it has acquired medical

imaging company NeuroLogica, part of the multinational conglomerate's plans to build a leading
medical technology business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.[156]

On 14 August 2014, Samsung[who?] acquired SmartThings, 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.[157]
On 19 August 2014, Samsung[who?] said it had acquired U.S. air conditioner distributor Quietside LLC
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.[158]

On 3 November 2014, Samsung[who?] announced it had acquired Proximal Data, Inc., a San Diego,
California-based pioneer of server-side caching software with I/O intelligence that work within
virtualized systems.[159]

On 18 February 2015, Samsung[who?] acquired U.S.-based mobile payments firm LoopPay – This
allows Samsung in smartphone transactions.[160]

On 5 March 2015, Samsung[who?] acquired small U.S.-based manufacturer of light-emitting diode

displays, YESCO Electronics, which focuses on making digital billboards and message signs.[161]

On 5 October 2016, Samsung[who?] announced it had acquired Viv, a company working on artificial
intelligence.[162]

On 15 November 2016, Samsung Canada announced it has acquired Rich Communications

Services, a company working on a new technology for text messaging.[163]

Major clients
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The world's largest oil and gas project, Sakhalin II- Lunskoye
platform under construction. The topside facilities of the LUN-A (Lunskoye) and PA-B (Piltun
Astokhskoye) platforms are being built at the Samsung Heavy Industry shipyard in South Korea.
[164]

Major clients of Samsung include:

Royal Dutch Shell

Samsung Heavy Industries will be the sole provider of liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage
facilities worth up to US$50 billion to Royal Dutch Shell for the next 15 years.[165][166]
Shell unveiled plans to build the world's first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platform. In
October 2012[167] at Samsung Heavy Industries' shipyard on Geoje Island in South Korea
work started on a "ship" that, when finished and fully loaded, will weigh 600,000 tonnes, the
world's biggest "ship". That is six times larger than the largest U.S. aircraft carrier.[168]
United Arab Emirates government
A consortium of South Korean firms, including Samsung, Korea Electric Power
Corporation and Hyundai, won a deal worth $40 billion to build nuclear power plants in the
United Arab Emirates.[169]
 Ontario government
The government of the Canadian province of Ontario signed off one of the world's
largest renewable energy projects, signing a deal worth $6.6 billion for an additional 2,500
MW of new wind and solar energy. Under the agreement, a consortium led by Samsung and
the Korea Electric Power Corporation will manage the development of 2,000 MW-worth of
new wind farms and 500 MW of solar capacity, while also building a manufacturing supply
chain in the province.[170]

Corporate image


First Samsung logo

1960s–1993, as corporate logo

1970s

1980–1993, 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 color in the logo is blue, which Samsung has employed for years,
supposedly symbolizing stability, reliability and corporate social responsibility.[171]