Those who are in the know know that the Samsung Group is the largest chaebol (South Korean for “large conglomerate”) in the country. It is a manufacturing company that is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The company is a multinational corporation with numerous affiliated businesses. The group’s businesses are united under the Samsung brand.
Lee Kun-Hee
Among South Korea’s most powerful businessmen, Lee Kun-Hee is the owner of Samsung. He is credited with transforming the conglomerate from a local, shoddy producer of cheap products into a global tech powerhouse. After his father’s death, Lee took over as group chairman at age 36. He spent the next decade building Samsung into a global corporation.
In addition to Samsung’s electronics, the company has diversified into machinery, financial services, chemicals, hotels and shipbuilding. Its total turnover is almost equal to South Korea’s GDP. In fact, Lee Kun-Hee is the richest stock owner in South Korea. For instance, he owns stakes in four listed Samsung companies, bringing his net worth to $20.9 billion.
In the mid-1990s, Samsung began exporting refrigerators and microwaves. It also became a major global player in LCD displays. Samsung Electronics hauled in $200 billion in revenue last year. However, it reported a 31% drop in its profit for the three months ending September. The board of directors cited uncertainties in the global economy as a reason for the fall.
Lee Kun-Hee was convicted twice for white-collar crimes. In 1996, he was sentenced to two years in prison for bribery, though the sentence was suspended for three years. After the conviction, President Kim Young Sam pardoned Lee and he was released.
Before becoming chairman, Lee Kun-Hee worked as a vice chairman for Samsung Electronics. He also traveled overseas to improve the quality of Samsung’s products. In the mid-1990s, Lee took Samsung executives to a Best Buy store in Los Angeles. He convinced Korean American artist Nam June Paik to use Samsung televisions instead of Sony televisions.
Despite its success, Samsung faced heavy criticism for its labor rights practices. The company was frequently criticized for failing to properly compensate workers. In addition, it ignored cancer cases at its factories. The company also failed to expand into the auto industry in the 1990s. It also relied on Japanese technology to produce TVs.
Despite its global success, Samsung still faces mounting business headwinds. Its overall turnover declined to a record low in the third quarter, with a 31% drop in its profit. This was its first year-to-year profit drop in almost three years. The company also faces soaring interest rates and inflation.
Lee Jae-yong
Earlier this year, Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong was imprisoned for a year and a half after being found guilty of bribery. This is only the latest in a series of legal and business problems faced by Samsung’s scion. This is a case that shows the need for Samsung to improve its business and social responsibility practices.
Samsung is involved in electronics, machinery, financial services, chemicals, insurance, hotels, and telecommunications. It has a market capitalization of $280 billion. It’s one of a handful of family-controlled conglomerates that are known as chaebol.
During the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, Lee took a radical approach to make Samsung competitive internationally. He built semiconductor plants in Austin, Texas, and Suzhou, China. He also acquired Rollei Camera in Germany. By 2000, he aimed to make 20 percent of Samsung products outside South Korea. This pushed the company into automobile manufacturing.
Samsung faced a sharp downturn in the worldwide tech demand, largely due to soaring inflation and interest rates. The company reported a 31% drop in third-quarter profit. This is the first year-to-year profit drop in three years. It also reported a sharp decrease in chip shipments. It now faces a number of supply chain and demand problems.
The company also faced increasing US-China tensions, which is affecting chip shipments. It said geopolitical uncertainties would dampen demand until early 2023. Samsung is also facing new US restrictions on exports to China. It is also dealing with a supply chain crisis created by China’s COVID lockdowns.
Despite the scion’s legal problems, a pardon from President Yoon Suk Yeol may offer a way out for Lee. The pardon clears a five-year employment ban. This is a crucial moment for future capital investments.
Lee’s pardon is also seen as a chance for Samsung to repair its reputation. Lee was found guilty of bribing a former confidante of President Park Geun-hye. He was also indicted on charges of tax evasion and breach of trust.
His imprisonment created uncertainty for the company when it made bold investments. It also created anxiety for some of its employees.
Lee Byung-Chul
Founder of Samsung, Lee Byung-chul is one of the most successful and influential businessmen in the world. He is also a trendsetter in his generation. He started his business in 1938 and grew it into a global corporation.
In his early career, Lee Byung-chul started a small company in Daegu, South Korea. He specialized in trucking and importing and exporting foodstuffs and other goods. He later started a sugar refinery in Busan. He also established a large woolen mill in Daegu. The company was renamed Samsung Trading Company and relocated to Seoul in 1947.
In 1966, the company was involved in a major scandal, and Lee Myung Bak, the CEO, was exiled. The downfall of Rhee had a negative effect on Samsung’s reputation. But in the early 21st century, Samsung was one of the largest conglomerates in the world. The company has a revenue of more than the GDPs of many countries. Samsung is also involved in a variety of other industries.
After his father died, Lee Byung-chul became the company’s chairman. His goal was to make 20 percent of Samsung’s products outside of South Korea by the year 2000. He wanted to grow the company and to make it competitive in the international market. He promoted women to senior executives. During his reign, Samsung grew from a local business to a global powerhouse. He was also instrumental in the development of the company’s electronics division.
In 1961, he founded the Federation of Korean Industries, which promotes free-market economic policies. He also helped internationalize the Korean economy. He was one of the 11 most important businessmen in South Korea in 1996. He also became an active spokesman for the South Korean government.
Lee Byung-chul was born in Uiryeong County, South Gyeongsang Province. He was educated at Waseda University in Tokyo. He was the only son of a wealthy landowning family. He moved to Daegu in 1938 and founded his own small trading company. He was involved in amateur athletics. He also served as president of the Korean Amateur Wrestling Association.
Lee Byung-chul’s son, Lee Kun-hee, is also a prominent South Korean businessman. He has degrees from prestigious schools in Korea and Japan. His family is ranked second in the Forbes list of Asia’s richest families by 2017. His son has been acting as de facto leader of Samsung since 2014.
Jay Y. Lee
During the past two years, the world’s biggest maker of smartphones, Samsung, has been undergoing a major restructuring. It’s been struggling with supply chain problems and rising inflation, which sparked concerns of an economic slowdown. The company warned that demand for TVs, mobile phones and other electronic devices will be weak in the coming months.
Earlier this month, Samsung announced that it would delay key strategic decisions and cut its guidance for the third quarter. It warned that the global economic downturn would cut demand for electronic devices, including TVs and mobile phones. It also warned that geopolitical uncertainties would dampen demand until early 2023.
The company’s board of directors said it was taking steps to enhance accountability and business stability at the company. It also cited a “risky global business environment,” saying it needed to make major strategic decisions faster. It also recommended that Lee be rewarded with a formal title. That could ease his efforts to steer Samsung deeper into semiconductors and biotechnology.
In addition to being a scion of the powerful Lee family, Lee has been a de facto leader at Samsung for years. He has helped ramp up vaccine production, expanded chip investments and established a global network. He also served as the company’s chief operating officer.
Lee was pardoned by South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol in August. That allowed him to travel overseas and close deals, paving the way for his return to the Samsung board.
Lee’s return to the company is seen as a potential stabilizing force for the Korean economy. But corporate governance experts worry that his decisions will be less transparent and less subject to shareholder questions.
Lee was jailed in a separate case, accused of bribery and embezzlement. He served 207 days in jail, then was released on parole. His convictions would have kept him out of employment for five years. However, Lee is now serving a sentence that was cut in half by an appeals court.
Samsung was also a victim of rising tensions with China, which sparked supply chain problems and soaring inflation. It also faces a global economic downturn, with its profit dropping by 31% in the third quarter.