Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate company[citation needed] headquartered in

Samsung Town, Seoul. It comprises numerous subsidiaries and affiliated businesses, most of them
united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South Korean chaebol.

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 four business groups Samsung Group, Shinsegae
Group, CJ Group and Hansol Group. Since 1990s, Samsung has increasingly globalized its activities
and electronics, particularly mobile phones and semiconductors, have become its most important
source of income.

Notable Samsung industrial subsidiaries[citation needed] include Samsung Electronics (the world's
largest information technology company measured by 2012 revenues, and 4th in market value),[2]
Samsung Heavy Industries (the world's 2nd-largest shipbuilder measured by 2010 revenues),[3] and
Samsung Engineering and Samsung C&T (respectively the world's 13th and 36th-largest construction
companies).[4] Other notable subsidiaries include Samsung Life Insurance (the world's 14th-largest
life insurance company),[5] Samsung Everland (operator of Everland Resort, the oldest theme park in
South Korea)[6] and Cheil Worldwide (the world's 15th-largest advertising agency measured by 2012
revenues).[7][8]

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".[9][10] Its affiliate
companies produce around a fifth of South Korea's total exports.[11] Samsung's revenue was equal
to 17% of South Korea's $1,082 billion GDP.[12]

Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 1938 to 1970
2.2 1970 to 1990
2.3 1990 to 2000
2.4 2000 to 2015
3 Acquisitions and attempted acquisitions
4 Sold parts
4.1 Samsung Techwin
4.2 Samsung Thales
4.3 Samsung General Chemicals
4.4 Samsung Total
5 Operations
5.1 Subsidiaries and affiliates
5.2 Joint ventures
5.3 Partially owned companies
6 Major clients
7 Logo
7.1 Audio logo
8 Samsung Medical Center
9 Sponsorships
10 Litigation and regulatory issues
10.1 Financial scandals
10.2 Antitrust concerns
10.3 Viral marketing
10.4 Labor abuses
10.5 Price fixing
11 References
12 External links
Etymology
According to Samsung's founder, the meaning of the Korean hanja word Samsung () is "tri-star"
or "three stars". The word "three" represents something "big, numerous and powerful".[13] The
Korean concept derives from the Chinese deities Sanxing.

History
1938 to 1970

The headquarters of Sanghoes in Daegu in the late 1930s

In 1938, Lee Byung-chull (19101987) of a large landowning family in the Uiryeong county moved to
nearby Daegu city and founded Samsung Sanghoe (, ). Samsung started out as a
small trading company with forty employees located in Su-dong (now Ingyo-dong).[14] It dealt in
locally-grown groceries and made 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.

Samsung diversified into many different areas. Lee sought to establish Samsung as an industry
leader in a wide range of industries. Samsung moved into lines of business such as insurance,
securities and retail. President Park Chung Hee placed great importance on industrialization. He
focused his economic development strategy on a handful of large domestic conglomerates,
protecting them from competition and assisting them financially.[15]

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-chull. 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.[16][17]

In the late 1960s, Samsung Group entered into the electronics industry. It formed several
electronics-related divisions, such as Samsung Electronics Devices, Samsung Electro-Mechanics,
Samsung Corning and Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications, and made the facility in
Suwon. Its first product was a black-and-white television set.

1970 to 1990

The SPC-1000, introduced in 1982, was Samsung's first personal computer (Korean market only) and
used an audio cassette tape to load and save data the floppy drive was optional[18]
In 1980, Samsung acquired the Gumi-based Hanguk Jeonja Tongsin and entered the
telecommunications hardware industry. 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.[19] The
company grouped them together under Samsung Electronics in the 1980s.
After Lee, the founder's death in 1987, Samsung Group was separated into four business groups
Samsung Group, Shinsegae Group, CJ Group and the Hansol Group.[20] 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), and the Hansol Group
(Paper/Telecom). Today these separated groups are independent and they are not part of or
connected to the Samsung Group.[21] 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".[21]

In 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 billion 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.[22][23]

1990 to 2000
Samsung started to rise as an international corporation in the 1990s. Samsung's construction branch
was awarded a contract to build one of the two Petronas Towers in Malaysia, Taipei 101 in Taiwan
and the Burj Khalifa in United Arab Emirates.[24] 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.

Samsung became the largest producer of memory chips in the world in 1992, and is the world's
second-largest chipmaker after Intel (see Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Market Share Ranking
Year by Year).[25] 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 Tangjung, South Korea. As of December
26, 2011, it was announced that Samsung had acquired the stake of Sony in this joint venture.[26]

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 percent owned by Renault and 19.9 percent owned by Samsung.
Additionally, Samsung manufactured a range of aircraft from the 1980s to 1990s. The company was
founded in 1999 as Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the result of 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.
[27]

2000 to 2015

The Samsung pavilion at Expo 2012.

In 2000, Samsung opened a computer programming laboratory in Warsaw, Poland. Its work began
with set-top-box technology before moving into digital TV and smartphones. As of 2011, the Warsaw
base is Samsung's most important R&D center in Europe, forecast to be recruiting 400 new-hires per
year by the end of 2013.[28]

The prominent Samsung sign in Times Square, New York City.

In 2010, Samsung announced a ten-year growth strategy centered around five businesses.[29] One
of these businesses was to be focused on biopharmaceuticals, to which the company has committed
2.1 trillion.[30]

In December 2011, Samsung Electronics sold its hard disk drive (HDD) business to Seagate.[31]

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.[32][33] On 21 August's
edition of the Austin American-Statesman, Samsung confirmed plans to spend 3 to 4 billion dollars
converting half of its Austin chip manufacturing plant to a more profitable chip.[34] The conversion
should start in early 2013 with production on line by the end of 2013. On 14 March 2013, Samsung
unveiled the Galaxy S4.

On August 24, 2012, nine American jurors ruled that Samsung 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.[35] Samsung decried the decision saying that the move could harm
innovation in the sector.[36] It also followed a South Korean ruling stating that both companies were
guilty of infringing on each other's intellectual property.[37] In first trading after the ruling, Samsung
shares on the Kospi index fell 7.7%, the largest fall since 24 October 2008, to 1,177,000 Korean
won.[38] 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[39] which has been denied by the court.[40]

On September 4, 2012, Samsung announced that it plans to examine all of its Chinese suppliers for
possible violations of labor policies. The company said it will carry out audits of 250 Chinese
companies that are its exclusive suppliers to see if children under the age of 16 are being used in
their factories.[41]

In 2013, a New Zealand news outlet reported a number of Samsung washing machines
spontaneously catching on fire.[42] The corporation is expected to spend $14 billion on advertising
and marketing in 2013, with publicity appearing in TV and cinema ads, on billboards and at sports
and arts events. In November 2013, the corporation was valued at $227 billion.[43]

In May 2014, Samsung announced it will be shutting down its streaming service on 1 July 2014, also
meaning the end of the Samsung Music Hub app that typically comes installed on its Android
phones.[44]

On September 3, 2014, Samsung announced Gear VR, a virtual reality device in collaboration with
Oculus VR and developed for the Galaxy Note 4.[45]

In October 2014, Samsung announced a $14.7 billion investment to build a chip plant in South Korea.
Construction will begin next year with production beginning in 2017. The company has not yet
decided the type of chips to be produced.[46]
In October 2014, Samsung also announced it would invest 633 billion South Korean won ($560
million USD) in the construction of a new 700,000 square metre production complex in Vietnam.[47]

Samsung plans to launch a new set of services beginning early 2015. The goal of this new suite of
business offerings, dubbed Samsung 360 Services, is to become a help desk of sorts for businesses IT
departments. The customizable services range from technical support to security solutions for
having a Samsung employee embedded in a client's business as an on-site support manager or
technology consultant.[48]

On December 2, 2014, Samsung announced it will sell Fiber Optics to U.S. speciality glass
manufacturer Corning Inc.[49]

Samsung Electronics Inc. is expanding in Silicon Valley with a $300 million facility in San Jose,
California. The 10-story complex will include 1.1 million square feet of floor space, a clean room for
semiconductors and a "fitness center in the sky". The facility will be split between semiconductor
research and development and other sales and marketing functions. It will serve as the North
America headquarters for semiconductor operations.[50]

Acquisitions and attempted acquisitions

Samsung has made the following acquisitions and attempted acquisitions:[51]

Rollei Swiss watch battle

Samsung Techwin acquired German camera-maker Rollei in 1995. Samsung (Rollei) used its optic
expertise on the crystals of a new line of 100% Swiss-made watches, designed by a team of
watchmakers at Nouvelle Piquerez S.A. in Bassequort, Switzerland. Rolex's decision to fight Rollei on
every front stemmed from the close resemblance between the two names and fears that its sales
would suffer as a consequence. In the face of such a threat, the Geneva firm decided to confront.
This was also a demonstration of the Swiss watch industry's determination to defend itself when an
established brand is threatened. Rolex sees this front-line battle as vital for the entire Swiss watch
industry. Rolex has succeeded in keeping Rollei out of the German market. On 11 March 1995, the
Cologne District court prohibited the advertising and sale of Rollei watches on German
territory.[52][53] In 1999, Rollei management bought out the company.[54]
Fokker, a Dutch aircraft maker
Samsung 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 partnersHyundai,
Hanjin and Daewoonotified the South Korean government that they would not join Samsung
Aerospace Industries.[55]
AST Research
Samsung bought AST (1994) 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.[56]
FUBU clothing and apparel
In 1992, American fashion entrepreneur Daymond John had started the company with a hat
collection that was made in the basement of his house in the Queens area of New York City. To fund
the company, John had to mortgage his house for $100,000. With his friends J. Alexander Martin,
Carl Brown and Keith Perrin, half of his house was turned into the first factory of FUBU, while the
other half remained as the living quarters. Along with the expansion of FUBU, Samsung invested in
FUBU in 1995.[57]
Lehman Brothers Holdings' Asian operations
Samsung Securities was one of a handful of brokerages looking into Lehman Brothers Holdings. But
Nomura Holdings has reportedly waved the biggest check to win its bid for Lehman Brothers
Holdings' Asian operations, beating out Samsung Securities, Standard Chartered and Barclays.[58]
Ironically, after few months 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.[59]
MEDISON Co.,Ltd. ultrasound monitors
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.[60]
Grandis Inc. memory developer
In July 2011, Samsung announced that it had acquired spin-transfer torque random access memory
(MRAM) vendor Grandis Inc.[61] Grandis will become a part of Samsung's R&D operations and will
focus on development of next generation random-access memory.[62]
Samsung and Sony joint venture liquid crystal displays
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).[63]
mSpot, Inc music service
On 9 May 2012, mSpot announced that it had been acquired by Samsung Electronics with the
intention of a cloud based music service.[64] The succeeding service was Samsung Music Hub.
NVELO, Inc. cache software developer
In December 2012, Samsung announced that it had acquired the privately held storage software
vendor NVELO, Inc., based in Santa Clara, California.[65] 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.
NeuroLogica portable CT scanner
In January 2013, Samsung 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.[66]
SmartThings - home automation
On 14 August 2014, Samsung acquired SmartThings, a fast-growing home automation startup. The
company isn't releasing the acquisition price, but TechCrunch reported a $200 million pricetag when
first caught word of the deal in July 2014.[67]
Quietside U.S. air conditioner firm
On 19 August 2014, Samsung 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 percent of Quietside, but declined to elaborate on the price or
other details.[68]
Proximal Data data virtualization
3 November 2014, Samsung 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.[69]
LoopPay U.S. mobile payments firm
On 18 February 2015, Samsung acquired U.S. based mobile payments firm "LoopPay" - This allows
Samsung in smartphone transactions.[70]
YESCO Electronics U.S. based manufacturer of light emitting diode displays
On 5 March 2015, Samsung acquired small U.S.-based manufacturer of light emitting diode displays,
YESCO Electronics, which focuses on making digital billboards and message signs.[71]
Sold parts
Samsung Techwin
Samsung Techwin was listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 012450), with its
principal activities being the development and manufacture of surveillance, aeronautics,
optoelectronics, automations and weapons technology. It was announced to be sold to Hanwha
Group in December 2014[72] and the take-over completed in June 2015.[73]

Samsung Thales
Samsung Thales Co., Ltd. (until 2001 known as Samsung Thomson-CSF Co., Ltd.) 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.[74] Samsung's involvement was passed on to Hanwha
Group as part of the Techwin transaction.[73]

Samsung General Chemicals

[icon] This section requires expansion. (September 2015)
Samsung Total
Samsung Total was a 50:50 joint venture between Samsung and the France-based oil group Total
S.A. (more specifically Samsung General Chemicals and Total Petrochemicals). Samsung's role was
passed on to Hanwha Group when the latter acquired Samsung General Chemicals.[73]

Operations

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The Samsung Library at Sungkyunkwan University Natural Sciences Campus in Suwon, South Korea

Samsung Jongno Tower in Jongno-gu, Seoul

Samsung Tower Palace

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance HQ

Samsung comprises around 80 companies.[75] It is highly diversified, with activities in areas
including construction, consumer electronics, financial services, shipbuilding and medical
services.[75]

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).[76] However, it should be noted that these amounts do not include the
revenues from all of Samsung's subsidiaries based outside South Korea.[77]

Subsidiaries and affiliates

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.[78]

Principal subsidiary and affiliate companies of Samsung include:

Ace Digitech
Ace Digitech is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 036550).

Cheil Industries
Cheil Industries is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 001300).[79]

Cheil Worldwide
Cheil Worldwide is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 030000).

Credu
Credu is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 067280).

Imarket Korea
Imarket Korea is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 122900).

Samsung Card
Samsung Card is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 029780).

Samsung SDS
Main article: Samsung SDS
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 the 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

Samsung C&T Corporation is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (000830).

Samsung Electro-Mechanics
Samsung Electro-Mechanics, established in 1973 as a manufacturer of key electronic components, is
headquartered in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-
exchange (number 009150).[80]

Samsung Electronics
Main article: Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics is a multinational electronics and information technology company
headquartered in Suwon and the flagship company of the Samsung Group.[81] Its products include
air conditioners, computers, digital televisions, liquid crystal displays (including thin film transistors
(TFTs) and active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes (AMOLEDs)), mobile phones, monitors,
printers, refrigerators, semiconductors and telecommunications networking equipment.[82] It is the
world's largest mobile phone maker by unit sales in the first quarter of 2012, with a global market
share of 25.4%.[83] It is also the world's second-largest semiconductor maker by 2011 revenues
(after Intel).[84]

Samsung Electronics is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 005930).

Samsung Engineering
Main article: Samsung Engineering
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.[85] It achieved total revenues of 9,298.2 billion won
(US$8.06 billion) in 2011.[86]

Samsung Engineering is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 02803450).

Samsung Everland
Samsung Everland engages in an array of services closely associated with the day-to-day lives and
business operations of its customers. Its business scope covers the three main sectors of
Environment & Asset, Food Culture and Resort.

Since its inception in 1963 and the launch of theme park "Everland" in 1976, Samsung Everland has
steadily built its presence across the markets of golf, building management, food and beverage,
energy and environment. Through this process, Samsung Everland has managed to achieve its
current market standing. As a corporation trusted by the local community and renowned globally as
a pioneer in the infrastructure of life, Samsung Everland strives to help its customers lead fulfilling
lives and achieve success in their business operations by building the infrastructure for every aspect
of life including entertainment, culinary and business.

Samsung Fine Chemicals

Samsung Fine Chemicals is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 004000).

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance

Main article: Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance is a multinational general insurance company headquartered in
Seoul.[87] It was founded in January 1952 as Korea Anbo Fire and Marine Insurance and was
renamed Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in December 1993.[88] Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance
offers services including accident insurance, automobile insurance, casualty insurance, fire
insurance, liability insurance, marine insurance, personal pensions and loans.[89] As of March 2011
it had operations in 10 countries and 6.5 million customers.[89] 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.[89] It is the largest provider of general insurance in South Korea.

Samsung Fire has been listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange since 1975 (number
000810).[89]

Samsung Heavy Industries

Main article: Samsung Heavy Industries
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.[90] 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).[91][92]

Samsung Heavy Industries is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 010140).

Samsung Life Insurance

Main article: Samsung Life Insurance
Samsung Life Insurance Co., Ltd. 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.[93] Samsung Life's principal activity is the provision of individual life insurance
and annuity products and services.[94] As of December 2011 it had operations in seven countries,
8.08 million customers and 5,975 employees.[93] Samsung Life had total sales of 22,717 billion won
in 2011 and total assets of 161,072 billion won at 31 December 2011.[93] It is the largest provider of
life insurance in South Korea.

Samsung Life Insurance is listed on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 032830)

Samsung Machine Tools

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.[95]

Samsung Medical Center

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. 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 manned by approximately 7,400 staff
including over 1,200 doctors and 2,300 nurses. Since its foundation, 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.

Samsung SDI
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.[96]

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

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 redirects to Samsung.

Shilla Hotels and Resorts

The Hotel opened in March 1979, following the intention of the late Lee Byung-chull, the founder of
the Samsung Group. Hosting numerous state visits and international events, it has played the role of
locomotive for the service industry in Korea with pride and responsibility as "the face representing
the Samsung Group" and "the hotel representing Korea". THE SHILLA maintains elegance and a
tradition of winning guests' hearts with the aim of becoming "the best hospitality company". By
joining LHW, it is on par with the most luxurious hotels in the world. Meanwhile, it has added
modernistic design elements on top of the roof called tradition, thus going through changes to make
itself a premium lifestyle space. In addition, with its know-how as a service company in the
background, it started a duty-free shop business, and has built its image as the best global
distribution company. Also, it is expanding its business into commissioned management of fitness
facilities with five-star hotels in Korea and abroad as well as into the restaurant business. THE SHILLA
promises to be a globally prestigious hospitality company that offers the best value for money by
making creative innovations and continuously taking on challenges. Shilla Hotels and Resorts is listed
on the Korea Exchange stock-exchange (number 008770).

S-1 Corporation
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).

Samsung Taepyeong-ro HQ in Jung District, Seoul

The headquarters of Samsung Engineering in Seocho District, Seoul

Samsung Engineering India Office- 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.
Joint ventures
aT Grain
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 percent of aT Grain, while Samsung
C&T Corp, Hanjin Transportation Co. and STX Corporation each hold 15 percent.[97]

Brooks Automation Asia

Brooks Automation Asia Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between Brooks Automation (70%) and Samsung
(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.[98]

POSCO-Samsung Slovakia Steel Processing Center

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.[99]

Samsung Air China Life Insurance

Samsung Air China Life Insurance is a 50:50 joint venture between Samsung Life Insurance and China
National Aviation Corporation. It was established in Beijing in July 2005.[100]

Samsung Biologics
Samsung Electronics Co. and Samsung Everland Inc. will each own a 40 percent stake in the venture,
with Samsung C&T Corp. and Durham, North Carolina-based Quintiles each holding 10 percent. It
will contract-make medicines made from living cells, and Samsung Group plans to expand into
producing copies of biologics including Rituxan, the leukemia and lymphoma treatment sold by
Roche Holding AG and Biogen Idec Inc.[101]

Samsung Bioepis
Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Samsung Biologics (85%) and the U.S.-based Biogen Idec
(15%).[102] In 2014, Biogen Idec agreed to commercialize future anti-TNF biosimilar products in
Europe through Samsung Bioepis.[103]

Samsung BP Chemicals
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.[104][105][106]

Samsung Corning Precision Glass

Samsung Corning Precision Glass is a joint venture between Samsung 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

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.[107]

SB LiMotive
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.

SD Flex
SD Flex Co., Ltd. was founded on October 2004 as a joint venture corporation by Samsung and
DuPont, one of the world's largest chemical companies.[108]

Sermatech Korea
Sermatech owns 51% of its stock, while Samsung owns the remaining 49%. The U.S. firm Sermatech
International, for a business specializing in aircraft construction processes such as special welding
and brazing.[109]

Siam Samsung Life Insurance

Samsung Life Insurance holds a 37% stake while the Saha Group also has a 37.5% stake in the joint
venture, with the remaining 25% owned by Thanachart Bank.[110]

Siltronic Samsung Wafer

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.[111]

SMP
SMP Ltd. is a joint venture between Samsung Fine Chemicals and MEMC. MEMC Electronic Materials
Inc. and an affiliate of Korean conglomerate Samsung are forming a joint venture to build a
polysilicon plant.

Steco
Steco Co. is the joint venture established between Samsung Electronics and Japan's Toray Industries
in 1995.[112]
Stemco
Stemco is a joint venture established between Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Toray Industries in
1995.[113]

Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology

Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corporation (TSST) is 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% of its stock, while Samsung owns the remaining 49%.

Defunct
Alpha Processor
In 1998, Samsung created a U.S. joint venture with Compaqcalled 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 Alpha processors. At the time, Samsung and Compaq
invested $500 million in Alpha Processor.[114]

GE-Samsung Lighting
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.[115]

Global Steel Exchange

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.[116]

S-LCD
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.

Partially owned companies

Atlntico Sul
Samsung Heavy Industries owns 10% of the Brazilian shipbuilder Atlntico Sul, whose Atlntico Sul
Shipyard is the largest shipyard in South America. The Joao Candido, Brazil's largest ship, was built by
Atlntico Sul with technology licensed by Samsung Heavy Industries.[117] The companies have a
technical assistance agreement through which industrial design, vessel engineering and other know-
how is being transferred to Atlntico Sul.[118]

DGB Financial Group

Samsung Life Insurance currently holds a 7.4% stake in the South Korean banking company DGB
Financial Group, making it the largest shareholder.[119]

Corning Inc.
Samsung acquired 7.4% of Gorilla Glass maker Corning, signing a long-term supply deal.[120]

Doosan Engine
Samsung Heavy Industries currently holds a 14.1% stake in Doosan Engine, making it the second-
largest shareholder.[121]

Korea Aerospace Industries

Samsung Techwin currently holds a 10% stake in Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Other major
shareholders include the state-owned Korea Finance Corporation (26.75%), Hyundai Motor (10%)
and Doosan (10%).[122]

MEMC KOREA
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.[123]

Pantech
Samsung buys 10% stake in rival phone maker Pantech.[124]

Rambus Incorporated
Samsung currently owns 4.19% of Rambus Incorporated.[125]

Renault Samsung Motors

Samsung currently owns 19.9% of the automobile manufacturer Renault Samsung Motors.

Seagate Technology
Samsung 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.[126]

Sharp Corporation
Samsung owns 3% of Sharp Corporation, a rival company.[127]

SungJin Geotec
Samsung Engineering holds a 10% stake in Sungjin Geotec, an offshore oil drilling company that is a
subsidiary of POSCO.[128]

Taylor Energy
Taylor Energy is an independent American oil company that drills in the Gulf of Mexico based in New
Orleans, Louisiana.[129] Samsung Oil & Gas USA Corp., subsidiaries of Samsung, currently owns 20%
of Taylor Energy.

Wacom
Samsung owns 5% of Wacom.[130]

Major clients

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.[131]
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.[132][133]
Shell unveiled plans to build the world's first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platform. In
October 2012[134] 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.[135]
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.[136]
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 to 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.[137]
Logo

Samsung Byeolpyo noodles logo, used from late 1938 until replaced in 1958

Samsung Group logo, used 1960s

Samsung's current logo, in use since 1993[138]

The current Samsung logo design is intended to emphasize flexibility and simplicity while conveying
a dynamic and innovative image through the ellipse, the symbol of the universe and the world stage.
The openings on both ends of the ellipse where the letters "S" and "G" are located are intended to
illustrate the company's open-mindedness and the desire to communicate with the world. The
English rendering is a visual expression of its core corporate vision, excellence in customer service
through technology.

The basic color in the logo is blue, which the company has employed for years, symbolizing stability,
reliability and corporate social responsibility.[139]

Audio logo
Samsung has an audio logo, which consists of the notes E, A, D, E. The audio logo was produced
by Musikvergnuegen and written by Walter Werzowa.[140][141]

Samsung Medical Center

Samsung donates around US$100 million per annum to the Samsung Medical Center, a non-profit
healthcare provider founded by the group in 1994.[142] Samsung Medical Center incorporates
Samsung Seoul Hospital, Kangbook Samsung Hospital, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Samsung Cancer
Center and Samsung Life Sciences Research Center. The Samsung Cancer Center, located in Seoul, is
the largest cancer center in Asia.[143]

Samsung Medical Center and pharmaceutical multinational Pfizer have agreed to collaborate on
research to identify the genomic mechanisms responsible for clinical outcomes in hepatocellular
carcinoma.[144]

Sponsorships

A Samsung display in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics
For more details on Samsung's sports sponsorships, see Samsung Sports.
Samsung have been the sponsors of Premier League football club Chelsea since 2005, the
sponsorship was ended after ten years in June 2015.[145]

Samsung, which started as a domestic sponsor of the Olympics in Seoul 1988, has been a worldwide
Olympic partner since the 1998 Winter Olympics.[146]
Samsung operating many sports clubs, football club Suwon Samsung Bluewings, baseball club
Samsung Lions, basketball club Seoul Samsung Thunders, volleyball club Daejeon Samsung Fire
Bluefangs, etc.

Samsung also sponsors a former StarCraft: Brood War and current Starcraft II and League of Legends
professional gaming team named Samsung Galaxy. Samsung has sponsored the team since 2000.

Samsung Electronics spent an estimated $14 billion (U.S.) more than Iceland's GDP on advertising
and marketing in 2013. At 5.4% of annual revenue, this is a larger proportion than any of the world's
top-20 companies by sales (Apple spent 0.6% and General Motors spent 3.5%). Samsung became the
world's biggest advertiser in 2012, spending $4.3 billion, compared to Apple's $1 billion. Samsung's
global brand value of $39.6 billion is less than half that of Apple.[147]

Sydney Opera House[148]

Litigation and regulatory issues
See also: Samsung Electronics Controversies and Samsung Electronics Viral marketing
Financial scandals
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 amount of secret funds through
bank accounts illegally opened under the names of up to 1,000 Samsung executivesunder his own
name, four accounts were opened to manage 5 billion won.[149]

Antitrust concerns
"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".[150]

Viral marketing
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.[151] 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.[152]

Labor abuses
Samsung was the subject of several complaints about child labor in its supply chain from 2012 to
2015.
In July 2014, Samsung cut its contract with Shinyang Electronics after it received a complaint about
the company violating child labor laws.[153] Samsung says that its investigation turned up evidence
of Shinyang using underage workers and that it severed relations immediately per its "zero
tolerance" policy for child labor violations.
One of Samsung's Chinese supplier factories, HEG, was criticized for using underage workers by
China Labor Watch (CLW) in July 2014. HEG denied the charges and has sued China Labor
Watch.CLW issued a statement in August 2014 claiming that HEG employed over ten children under
the age of 16 at a factory in Huizhou, Guangdong. The group said the youngest child identified was
14 years old. Samsung said that it conducted an onsite investigation of the production line that
included one-on-one interviews but found no evidence of child labor being used. CLW responded
that HEG had already dismissed the workers described in its statement before Samsung's
investigators arrived.CLW also claimed that HEG violated overtime rules for adult workers. CLW said
a female college student was only paid her standard wage despite working four hours of overtime
per day even though Chinese law requires ovetime pay at 1.5 to 2.0 times standard wages.[153]

Price fixing
On October 19, 2011, Samsung was fined EUR 145,727,000 for being part of a price cartel of ten
companies for DRAMs which lasted from 1 July 1998 to 15 June 2002. The company received, like
most of the other members of the cartel, a 10-% reduction for acknowledging the facts to
investigators. Samsung had to pay 90% of their share of the settlement, but Micron avoided
payment as a result of having initially revealed the case to investigators.[156]
In Canada, during 1999, Some D-RAM micro chip manufacturers conspired to price fix, among the
accused included Samsung. The price fix was investigated in 2002. A recession started to occur that
year, and the price fix ended, however in 2014, the Canadian government reopened the case and
investigated silently. Sufficient evidence was found and presented to Samsung and two other
manufacturers during a class action lawsuit hearing. The companies agreed upon a $120 Million
agreement, with $40 million as a fine, and $80 Million to be paid back to Canadians who purchased a
computer, printer, MP3 player, gaming console or camera from April 1999 to June 2002.[