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Samsung Group
Native name
Hangul: 삼성그룹
Private
Industry Conglomerate
Founded 1 March 1938; 87 years ago (1938-03-01) in Daegu, Japanese Korea
Founder Lee Byung-chul
Headquarters Samsung Digital City,
Yeongtong-gu, Suwon
,
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Lee Jae-yong (chairman)
Products Clothing, automotive, chemicals, consumer electronics, electronic components, medical equipment, semiconductors, solid-state drives, DRAM, flash memory, ships, telecommunications equipment, home appliances
Services Advertising, construction, entertainment, financial services, hospitality, information and communications technology, medical and health care services, retail, shipbuilding, semiconductor foundry
Subsidiaries Cheil Worldwide
Samsung Asset Management
Samsung Biologics
Samsung C&T Corporation
Samsung Electro-Mechanics
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Engineering
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance
Samsung Heavy Industries
Samsung Life Insurance
Samsung SDI
Samsung SDS
Samsung Securities
Samsung
Hangul
Hanja
Revised Romanization Samseong
McCune–Reischauer Samsŏng


Samsung Group is a huge company from South Korea. It makes many different things, like smartphones, television sets, and even ships! It's one of the biggest companies in the world and is known for its electronics. Samsung has its main offices in Suwon, South Korea.

What Does "Samsung" Mean?

The name "Samsung" comes from Korean words. It means "three stars." The founder of Samsung, Lee Byung-chul, chose this name because "three" means something big, many, and powerful. "Stars" means something that lasts forever or is eternal.

History of Samsung

Starting Small (1938–1970)

Lee Byung-chul
Lee Byung-chul, the person who started Samsung

Samsung was started in 1938 by Lee Byung-chul in a city called Daegu, in Korea. Back then, it was a small trading company with only 40 employees. They sold things like dried fish, local foods, and noodles.

The company grew, and Lee Byung-chul wanted Samsung to be a leader in many different areas. So, Samsung started new businesses. They got into things like insurance and even opened a wool mill.

In the late 1960s, Samsung started making electronics. They created different groups like Samsung Electronics Devices. Their very first electronic product was a black-and-white television.

Growing Bigger (1970–1990)

SPC-1000
The SPC-1000, Samsung's first computer from 1982.

In 1980, Samsung got into making telecommunications equipment. They started with things like switchboards. This part of the company grew into making telephones and later, mobile phones. Samsung has made over 800 million mobile phones since then! All these electronics businesses were brought together under the name Samsung Electronics in the 1980s.

After its founder, Lee Byung-chul, passed away in 1987, Samsung Group was divided into five different business groups. These groups, like Shinsegae and CJ Group, became separate and independent companies.

During the 1980s, Samsung Electronics invested a lot in new ideas and technologies. This helped them become a leader in the global electronics world. They built factories in places like Portugal, New York, and England. They also built a large facility in Austin, Texas, which is one of the biggest foreign investments in the United States.

Becoming a Global Leader (1990–2000)

From 1990 onwards, Samsung became even more global. Their mobile phones and computer chips became their most important products. Samsung's construction part helped build famous buildings like one of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, Taipei 101 in Taiwan, and the Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates.

In 1992, Samsung became the world's largest maker of memory chips. In 1995, they made their first liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen. Ten years later, Samsung was the biggest maker of LCD panels in the world.

Samsung did well during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, unlike some other big Korean companies. However, they had to sell their car company, Samsung Motor, to Renault.

Recent Years (2000–Present)

Signs, signs and more signs (2504183343)
A large Samsung sign in Times Square, New York City

In 2000, Samsung opened a development center in Poland. They worked on digital TVs and later, smartphones. This led to the creation of the popular Samsung Galaxy line of phones and other devices.

Korea President Park Business Leaders 20130508 01
The Samsung Group's chairman, Lee Kun-hee (left), with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, 2013

In 2010, Samsung announced a plan to grow in five key areas, including biopharmaceuticals (medicines made from living things).

In 2012, Samsung Electronics became the world's largest mobile phone maker, selling more phones than any other company.

In 2016, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone had a problem with its battery, causing some phones to catch fire. Samsung stopped selling the phone and recalled all of them. They later ended production of that specific phone model.

In 2018, Samsung opened the world's largest mobile phone factory in India.

In 2023, Samsung decided to make fewer memory chips because there wasn't as much demand for them after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Samsung's Impact in South Korea

Samsung has a huge impact on South Korea's economy and culture. It has played a big part in the country's fast economic growth, sometimes called the "Miracle on the Han River." The companies connected to Samsung make up about one-fifth of all of South Korea's exports. In 2022, Samsung's total income was about 22.4% of South Korea's entire economy.

How Samsung Works

Samsung is made up of about 80 different companies. These companies do many things, including construction, making consumer electronics, offering financial services, building ships, and providing medical services. They also have research centers that work on new technologies like genetic engineering and nanotechnology.

In 2010, Samsung's total income was about $258 billion, with profits of about $27.6 billion.

Leaders of Samsung

  1. Lee Byung-chul (1938–1966, 1968–1987)
  2. Lee Maeng-hee (1966–1968)
  3. Lee Kun-hee (1987–2008, 2010–2020)
  4. Lee Soo-bin (2008–2010)

Main Samsung Companies

Samsung Headquarters - Silicon Valley
Samsung's Silicon Valley main office in San Jose, California
  • Samsung Electronics is the most well-known part of Samsung. It makes things like air conditioners, computers, digital television sets, mobile phones, printers, refrigerators, and semiconductors (computer chips). It's the world's largest mobile phone maker and one of the biggest chipmakers.
  • Samsung Biologics is a company that makes special medicines called biopharmaceuticals. They help develop and produce important drugs.
  • Samsung Engineering is a construction company that builds large projects. These include oil and gas plants, power plants, and water treatment facilities.
  • Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance is a company that provides different types of insurance, like car insurance and home insurance. It's the largest general insurance provider in South Korea.
  • Samsung Heavy Industries builds large ships, including oil tankers and container ships. It's one of the biggest shipbuilders in the world.
  • Samsung Life Insurance offers life insurance and retirement plans. It's the largest life insurance company in South Korea.
  • Samsung SDI makes lithium-ion batteries for things like electric vehicles and mobile phones. They also used to make TV screens.
  • Samsung SDS is an IT (Information Technology) service company. They help businesses set up and manage their computer systems and data centers. It's the largest IT service company in Korea.
  • Cheil Worldwide is a marketing company that creates advertisements and public relations campaigns for businesses.
  • Samsung Card is a company that provides credit cards in South Korea.
  • Hotel Shilla is a hotel and resort company that runs luxury hotels.
  • Samsung Medical Center is a large hospital and cancer center in South Korea. Samsung donates a lot of money to help it provide excellent medical care and research.

Major Customers

Samsung works with many big customers around the world:

  • Shell plc: Samsung Heavy Industries helps Shell build huge facilities for storing liquefied natural gas (LNG). They are even building the world's largest floating LNG platform.
  • United Arab Emirates government: Samsung, along with other Korean companies, is helping to build nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates.
  • Ontario government (Canada): Samsung is part of a big project to develop renewable energy (wind and solar energy) in the Canadian province of Ontario.

Company Look and Sound

Logos

Samsung's main logo color is blue. This color is often used to show that a company is stable and trustworthy.

Samsung used to have a special sound that played, like a short tune. It was made of four musical notes. This sound logo is no longer used.

Fonts

Samsung has its own special fonts, or typefaces. In 2014, they introduced Samsung Sharp Sans. In 2016, they created SamsungOne. This font was designed to look consistent across all Samsung products, from small phones to large TVs, and in their advertisements. It supports over 400 different languages!

Sponsorships

Samsung display Salt Lake Olympics
A Samsung display in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics

Samsung Electronics spends a lot of money on advertising and marketing. In 2013, they spent an estimated $14 billion (U.S.). This is a very large amount compared to other big companies. Samsung became the world's biggest advertiser in 2012.

Samsung in Vietnam

In 2008, Samsung started building its first mobile phone factory in Vietnam. This factory, called Samsung Electronics Vietnam (SEV), has grown a lot.

Between 2018 and 2022, Samsung helped Vietnam earn over $306 billion from exports. In 2022 alone, Samsung contributed $65 billion to Vietnam's total exports. Samsung has also helped many Vietnamese businesses become part of its global supply chain. The number of Vietnamese companies supplying parts to Samsung has grown from 25 in 2014 to 257 by the end of 2022.

Images for kids

Logo of Samtron
Logo of Samtron

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Samsung para niños

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