Samsung

Samsung Group is a large company from South Korea with many different businesses. It was started in 1938 by Lee Byung-chul, who first made it as a simple trading company.

Over time, Samsung grew to include many areas like food, clothes, insurance, and building.

Today, Samsung is best known for its electronics, especially phones and computer chips, made by its largest part, Samsung Electronics. This part of the company brings in a lot of money and is very important to Samsung.

Besides electronics, Samsung also builds big ships through Samsung Heavy Industries and works on large building projects around the world with Samsung Engineering. The company has many other parts too, like an insurance business and a marketing company, all helping to make Samsung one of the biggest companies in the world.

Etymology

The name Samsung means "three stars" in Korean. The number three stands for something big and strong, and stars mean something that lasts forever.

History

1938–1970

In 1938, Lee Byung-chul started Samsung as a small trading company in Ginei. In 1947, the main office moved to Seoul. During the Korean War, Samsung began making sugar in Pusan. Later, Samsung grew into making clothes and other products.

1970–1990

In 1980, Samsung started making mobile phones. After the founder passed away in 1987, Samsung split into different groups. Samsung Electronics spent a lot on research and built factories all over the world.

1990–2000

Samsung became a big company around the world. It helped build famous buildings like the Petronas Towers and Taipei 101. Samsung also made memory chips and screens for computers and phones.

2000–present

Samsung set up technology centers in many countries. It made important smartphones and had some legal issues about technology. In 2016, Samsung stopped selling a phone because of problems with the battery. By 2026, Samsung became very valuable because of strong demand for chips used in new technology.

Influence in South Korea

Samsung is very important to South Korea. It helps the country grow and makes a lot of money for it. Samsung makes about a fifth of everything South Korea sells to other countries.

Some people think Samsung is very powerful. They say it can affect smaller businesses and choices for shoppers.

Operations

Samsung has about 80 companies. These companies work in many areas. They build things, make electronics for homes, handle money, build ships, and help with health care. They also have special labs for new ideas in chemicals, tools for changing genes, space travel, and tiny technology.

As of 2024, Samsung was the top company for designing new products. Many of their ideas are shared around the world. The company has become one of the most valuable brands globally.

Acquisitions and attempted acquisitions

Samsung made special groups in 2012 and 2013 to help new businesses grow and work together. In 2017, they set aside money to support small technology companies that were just starting out. These groups focus on connecting devices to the internet, storing information online, and keeping data safe. In 2025, Samsung started a new part of their business to help other companies grow by buying them, but they had some limits on how much they could spend from money saved outside their home country.

Major clients

Samsung has many important customers around the world. One of these customers is Shell plc. Samsung Heavy Industries helps Shell with big projects involving special gas storage.

Another important customer is the government of the United Arab Emirates. In 2009, Samsung joined with other companies to help build big power plants there.

Samsung also works with the government of Ontario, a province in Canada. Together, they are creating large projects to make clean energy from wind and the sun.

Corporate image

Samsung has used many logos over the years. The first logo was made in 1938, and the current logo has been used since 1993. The logos often use the color blue, which stands for stability, reliability, and responsibility.

Samsung also has an audio logo with special musical notes. This audio logo was made by Musikvergnuegen and written by Walter Werzowa, but it is no longer used since 2015. In 2014, Samsung made a new font called Samsung Sharp Sans, and in 2016, they made another font called SamsungOne. SamsungOne helps all Samsung products, from small phones to large TVs, look the same and supports many languages.

Sponsorships

For further information on Samsung's sports sponsorships, see Samsung Sports.

Samsung Electronics spent a lot of money on advertising and marketing in 2013. Apple and General Motors spent less than Samsung. Samsung became the biggest spender on ads in the world in 2012.

In Vietnam

In March 2008, Samsung began building its first mobile phone factory in Vietnam in Bac Ninh. It started with an investment of 670 million USD and grew to 2.5 billion USD.

From 2018 to 2022, Samsung helped Vietnam earn over 306 billion USD from exports. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, Samsung added 65 billion USD to Vietnam's exports. This helped Vietnam reach a total export value of over 732 billion USD. Samsung also supported many Vietnamese companies to grow and join the world's electronics industry. The number of Vietnamese companies working with Samsung grew from 25 in 2014 to 257 by the end of 2022.

Controversies

Samsung has had some serious concerns over the years.

From 2012 to 2015, there were complaints that some Samsung factories used workers who were too young. In 2014, Samsung ended a contract with one supplier after finding evidence of this. Another factory was also accused, but Samsung said its checks found no proof.

In 2017, a leader of Samsung was arrested for giving money to a friend of the president to help with business matters. He was found guilty and spent time in prison but was later released early.

In 2011, Samsung and other companies were fined for agreeing to set high prices on computer memory chips. This affected many people who bought computers and other devices during that time. In 2022, Samsung was also fined in Australia for saying some phones could survive being underwater when they actually had problems after water exposure.

Recently, in 2024, reports say harmful software was found on some Samsung phones in certain countries. This software could take photos and hear sounds without the user knowing.